Hidden Forbidden
by thefireplanet
Summary: On the mysterious letters from no one, disappearing friends, heartless, SIN, disease, undiscussed feelings, and the gun currently pointed at Yuffie's head--oh yeah. That too.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** i don't know what this is, where it came from, or if i should even continue it. has this been done before? i think i'm crazy, whatever the case. this is a prologue. if one or two people want to keep reading i'll post a first chapter. i'll have a better, less confusing post next time...um, anyway, enjoy my crazy brain child! and review, of course :)

* * *

**Prologue**

The storm brought back memories of a night long ago when the wind was howling through the trees, making their branches sway dangerously, and causing the ocean separating them from the island to become a great churning mass, threatening to overturn anything on the water itself. Memories of secret places and lost friends and darkness and _oh so much more_—

But as the boy lay sprawled across the bed, listening to the tempest outside that was sure to mean lots of cleanup tomorrow, he was not thinking about nights of past. Instead, in that fateful period when one is not quite asleep but not quite awake, he was thinking of a letter.

The said piece of parchment lay clutched in his hand, wrinkled and torn from being passed around so much in the course of two hours. The writing, scrawled so hastily across the normally blank surface and stamped with the unmistakable seal, had been read over and over, out loud and to oneself, backwards, forwards, and whatever lay in between, and still it made no sense.

The boy turned on his side, eyes leveling upward towards the window and the hurricane-like weather outside. A particularly nasty bought of thunder and lightning wrought through the darken sky; the clouds had turned a sickly green color, and as the light flashed across it the mass would turn a dark, shadowy black.

Once more the boy turned, his back now to the window and the picture it painted of the outside world. As his eyes stared blankly ahead, seeing but not, he rubbed his thumb up and along the paper's edge, sighing wearily at the thought of what it meant for the three of them.

Now flipping so his eyes roamed the ceiling, the boy clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, as if in pain—so many times he was called upon to do things. So many times his key was called for. But this—if the task was not laid lout in front of him, he wasn't entirely sure of what to expect.

Or what to do for that matter.

As he brought up sweaty hands and a piece of paper to wearily rub his sleep deprived eyes, he wondered what he should do—because the written word on its surface did not give a date, did not give a time—it didn't even give a place.

Instead, four words, the last slightly smudged as if the letter was rolled in a hurry.

A loud rack of thunder echoed throughout the sky and caused him to outwardly flinch as he readjusted the blankets and turned once again to face the raging storm outside—what could it possibly mean?

Because, in the end, he was just a boy, with a whole lot of luck, a sprinkling of good friends, and a large key—and the letter was just a piece of paper with four words.

_Geostigma_

_Sin_

_Heartless—_

_Beware_

_

* * *

_

i told you i'm craazzy.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** this story's gonna be a mind trip, lol--for those of you wondering, there are going to be a lot of pairings, which is why i don't have any listed. thank you so much to Death by Default and NinjaSheik for reviewing! ...enjoy this crazyyy chapter.

* * *

**Chapter One: Happenstance**

Yuffie Kisaragi, single-white rose of Radiant Garden, did not, under any circumstances, believe in what was known as 'happenstance.'

When she woke this morning and stumbled, sleepy-eyed, out of her small room and onto the landing of the house she shared with her friends, effectively tripping over a large sword left in the hall courtesy of Leon, she did not think it was merely a fluke. No, of course not—she tripped over this sword for a reason, there was a reason she didn't look at where she was stepping, and there was a logical explanation as to why she didn't merely _step over _the weapon.

When she staggered, still slightly bleary eyed, out into the bright sun and began to head towards the Restoration Committee Headquarters, managing to single-handedly knock down three newly potted plants, she did not think of it as merely chance. No, of course not—the plants, obviously, were jumping in front of her, and even this they had a motive for. Perhaps to help with her reflexives, perhaps to startle her awake—either way, the trail of broken pottery mixed with ruddy dirt that spread out behind her obviously occurred for a reason.

When she sauntered, wide-eyed by this point, out into the square and talked to not one, not two, but _three_ whole passerby, she did not think that them talking to her was merely a coincidence. No, of course not—they obviously had their reasons for waking up this morning and deciding to talk to the world's greatest ninja. It was so simple; she was pretty famous, after all.

When she hop-skipped over one of the few remaining heartless, getting cut by a long shadowy tendril, she did not cry or cuss or whine—no, of course not, for the cut obviously happened for a reason. She did not think of it as merely an accident—after disposing of the beast, and thinking about the incident, she decided that the heartless's reason for cutting her was simple—to test her skill under pressure.

Yeah, that was it.

But when she meandered on back to the crowded square and suddenly felt a little light headed and a _whole_ lot of dizzy, she began to rethink her whole life's philosophy. After all, that couldn't have happened for a reason, because she was the Champion of the Earth and Sky, and Champions never, never, never got sick. But if it didn't happen for a reason, that would make it a…fluke?

And when, as the sun was sinking, ending the day, she was nearing her home and suddenly felt a large jolt of pain travel up her right leg, sending her jarringly to the ground, she had made up her mind.

This was definitely happenstance, and nothing more.

…Right?

* * *

With a final tug the large brown boot yielded and slipped snugly onto the girl's foot; she sighed gratefully, stood up from her position on the stairs, and stretched once, arms raised high over her head as she let out a tired yawn.

"Morning, Aerith." The voice, brusque, muttered this greeting as its owner brushed past her and into the main kitchen area, reaching hastily for a glass of water.

"Morning Leon," Aerith, hair up in its familiar pink ribbon, eyes a bright, emerald green, dusted off the back of her new blue skirt, and adjusted her azure and pink tank tops before smiling brilliantly in her friend's direction. "How'd you sleep?" she inquired brightly.

"Fine," the man answered, glancing warily around the kitchen, "but, where's Yuffie? She's usually up before I am."

Aerith sent a worried glance up the stairs. "I don't know…she _is_ always up with the sun. Should I go wake her?"

Leon shrugged, brow creasing as he replied, "Maybe she's sick."

"Still…"

Aerith place a finger on her lip as she frowned, eyes wandering to the second-story landing and her friend's room—Yuffie Kisaragi had many bad habits, but lateness was not among them; in fact, if the girl had an OCD, it was definitely about being on time. Glancing at the clock Aerith sighed, "I'm giving her ten minutes."

* * *

Yuna was a treasure hunter for one reason and one reason alone—her size. Normally her smaller than small stature did not bother her in the least, but lately something had been brushing at the corners of her mind, and the need to break the spell placed upon her and her friends became greater and greater.

"Ooohhh!" Rikku floated upward, grabbing the lip of a large piece of broken stone wall, a remnant from the old days. "Yunie, Paine, look at this!"

Yuna, startled from her revere, shot upward and came to a slow stop beside her overtly loud and obnoxious friend, who currently had her hand in the air and was pointing to various objects she could pick out with her eye. Paine, red eyes flashing, flew up at a more respectable pace, sighing as she came to a stop by the hollering sprite.

"Look at those ruins, isn't it cool, huh, huh, huh?" Rikku flipped her long mass of hair over one shoulder and placed both hands on the wall to boost herself higher.

"Yeah, amazing." Paine drawled, turning her head away to scan the area around her.

"Well, they are pretty…expansive." Yuna admitted, mimicking Rikku so she could get a better view.

The three diminutive fortune seekers had flown off past the Dark Depths, where the cliff face dropped off sharply, making it impossible for _normal_ people to get past to the extensive ruins below. After an hour of wandering the dank remains of the former buildings, Rikku had stumbled upon a whole new district, which spread out far and wide in all directions. Not that Paine particularly cared at this moment—the castle above, all sharp towers and spires, held her attention.

"So, are we going to go look there?" the blonde looked over at her two friends. "I think we should. Remember what the witch said?"

"Maleficent." Paine corrected automatically.

"I don't care, you big poopie." Rikku stuck her tongue out as she propelled herself up and over to the other side of the wall.

" 'In a place carved of stone that is not for the meek, in a chamber unknown you will find what you seek.'" Yuna recited. "Well…it's worth a shot. Do you think we should try it Paine?"

The last girl shrugged.

"I couldn't care less."

* * *

"Alright, I'm going up there." Aerith slowly climbed the large staircase to the landing, proceeding from there to head to the second door; she paused before knocking, slowly but faintly.

There was no answer. Looking back at Leon, who stood, arms crossed, at the bottom of the stairs, Aerith tentatively put her hand on the brass door handle and turned it slowly. "Yuffie?" she asked, voice laced with concern as she slowly stepped into the younger girl's room and shut the door.

On first glance the space looked incredibly cluttered—the bed, pushed up against the far wall underneath the only window, was mussed with blankets and sheets twisted around the young girl who fitfully slept within their clutches; the floor was littered with various articles of clothing, as was the thin screen that served to hide her changing area—in fact, the only organized thing in the room was her stash of various shuriken, which hung on the wall in their respective places. Stepping over a few piles of messy laundry Aerith made her way over to the sleeping girl; prodding her gently Aerith whispered, "Yuffie honey, are you feeling okay?"

The lump on the bed rolled over, drowsily muttering, "…Aerith?"

"Mm-hm." Aerith nodded, repeating her unanswered inquiry.

"Yeah, mm'fine." The girl opened wide grey eyes to stare at the women before her. "What's up, Aerith?"

"We have to leave to meet the Committee."

"You mean…" Yuffie shot straight up, "I'm late?!"

"Well…" Aerith backed up to give the girl space as she sprang up out of bed; Aerith noticed with a tight feeling in her stomach that all Yuffie's movements were still slightly lethargic. _Maybe I'm overreacting_, she tried to reason with herself, _it could be a cold. Or the flu. Nothing more_.

"Shit," Yuffie cursed as she grabbed up a shirt and shorts and headed over to her screen, seizing a pair of white stockings as she went. "Sorry Aerith, I'll be right down."

"Okay." Aerith backed out of the room and shut the door to give her some privacy before heading down the stairs to join Leon.

"Is she okay?" he asked, a tinge of worry just barely visibly in his voice.

"I'm not…" Aerith paused, "yeah. She seems fine."

* * *

The wizened old man adjusted his large, pointed purple cap and sighed mournfully as the door closed behind his latest patient—a young man, mid-twenties or so, who was complaining of horrible arm pains, over sleeping, bouts of dizziness—

He had all the signs; Merlin just didn't have the heart to tell him so.

The ancient wizard aimlessly moved and removed a large pile of strange medical texts around his small house, which had been vacated by the Restoration Committee—they had moved into Ansem's study. With another exhale he picked up the stack of books once more and swung around to go and place them by his large chalkboard.

He wanted, badly, to know which of them had started recommending him as a doctor. He was not, by any means, a qualified physician, but he was all the townspeople had—he could set broken bones, diagnose minor diseases, prescribe a few Cura treatments—but this, _this _was beyond his control.

It had started cropping up unexpectedly in the poorer parts of Radiant Garden; it had no name, it had no cure, and the documented cases usually resulted in death.

Or worse.

He remembered one case, a few months back, when the patient started taking on signs of the heartless. But then, that had only occurred once—probably nothing more than happenstance, a symptom created by a crazed mind.

Merlin wearily moved the tomes once more, setting them down where he had them in the first place, by his bed, before grabbing up his magic wand and tapping the end of it lightly against his head.

He had to come up with a cure. And fast, before word of this nameless disease got out to the general public—if it hadn't already. He picked up a few scattered pieces of parchment on which he had written the case notes, before staring at the eerily blank space of the greenish-chalk board.

"First things firsts," he warbled out to no one in particular. "A name, fitting for this sickness, should be created at once. A cure is sure to follow soon after."

So it was with this thought in mind that after a few more vacant stares at the files the old magician waved his wand once, sending a small piece of chalk scribbling over the board in one swift motion. It wrote one word.

He said it out loud, tested it on his tongue—it seemed to fit perfectly.

"Geostigma."

* * *

"Ow! _Yunie_!" A voice squealed, causing a resounding echo to move about the dark cavern that the three sprites were currently occupying. "That was my _toe_!"

"Sorry Rikku," Yuna, grouping along the ceiling of the cavern next to her friend, stopped suddenly. She felt a bump on her back as Paine flew into her, yelping as she tumbled head over heels in the air.

"Why'd you stop?" Paine asked irritably.

"I just felt something." Yuna, eyes wide open in a pathetic attempt to see more of the pitch dark cave, back-tracked slowly, carefully avoiding the two behind her with shouted warnings.

The trio had wandered a little too deep into the ruins and ended up lost in a maze of underground networks. The light had left them some time ago, and, half-blind, they had flown along in search of an exit.

The search had yielded nothing so far.

Yuna, small hand gliding deftly over the rough surface of the cave ceiling, found what she was looking for. "It's smooth," she began to explain, "like glass…but, it's too big for me to take out on my own; you guys'll have to help."

"Fine." Paine found Yuna's hand in the dark, as did Rikku, and they were pulled upward slightly to feel the glassy surface above them.

"Try to find some grooves," Rikku intoned, already probing around to find a suitable handhold. "Come on, Gull Wings!"

"I got one," Paine spoke to no one in particular.

"I have one too," Rikku exclaimed.

"Oh, I found one." Yuna smiled. "What do you think it is?"

"Do you think it could be…?" Rikku broke off in breathless excitement.

"Only one way to find out."

* * *

Yuffie opened the door to the hall hurriedly, pulling up her knee-length white socks as she did so; shutting the door behind her, she tightened her headband, readjusted her dark blue top, and tugged at her beige shorts—five minutes flat, and she was ready. Shuriken securely on her back, she stumbled down the stairs.

"Oh my gosh, Squall," she began when she saw him sitting at their small kitchen table, "I'm so, so, so sorry—I don't know what happened—"

"It's Leon." The man sighed, rubbing his eyes. "And it's not a problem, Yuffie. You're not _that _late."

The girl grabbed a piece of bread from the container that she had left out last night; shoving it down her throat she asked, "Where's Aerith?"

"Gone ahead. We're to meet Cid and Merlin in Ansem's study."

"Any sign of Cloud yet?" Her voice hopeful, Yuffie set grey-eyes on Leon's unmoving form. "Anything at all?"

"Not yet. Sora saw him last, remember? Back when he disappeared while fighting Sephiroth. Cid hasn't been able to find him anywhere, and he hasn't showed up at the Square or at Merlin's."

She exhaled loudly, blowing up the light dusting of bangs that covered her forehead. "Hope he's okay…"

Leon, not liking at all the somber expression on the girl's face, stood up abruptly, grabbing his gun blade from its nearby lean on the counters. "Come on, we should leave."

"Alright." Yuffie sighed, exiting the small home.

* * *

"Pull…harder…!" Rikku panted, tugging at the object embedded in the ceiling. "Come…on…!"

Yuna was just about to give up when a sickening crack resounded in the otherwise semi-silent chamber. "I think we almost have it!" she whispered excitedly, and began her struggle anew. Paine, determined expression on her face, was the one who gave the final, all important tug—

The thing, whatever it was (hopefully valuable) fell with startling speed towards the ground below, dragging the minute sprites with it in a fast downward spiral.

When the object collided with the ground it shattered into a million different separate, sharp pieces, narrowly missing the three screaming fairies that covered their head and necks desperately with their hands; however, as the apparent glass orb shattered three separate globes of floating light gently drifted outward to the sprites that had huddled together in the middle of the cave floor.

"I think we found it!"

* * *

Leon did not like they way Yuffie kept stumbling, but reserved voicing his opinion—the girl was incredibly stubborn when she wanted to be, and as they passed Merlin's home her gait shifted ever so slightly until her normal lope had returned and Leon felt that he had been seeing things.

Having just passed into the bailey Leon was contemplating asking Yuffie if she was feeling alright—so far he had come up with three possible responses she would give, and all were unpleasant—when there was a screech and a large heartless, shaped like an hourglass, appeared before them. He un-holstered his gunblade, had it aimed at the heartless, and fired in one swift movement. It disappeared in a flurry of red and heat and _why hadn't Yuffie moved_—

She was standing there, one hand loosely on the hilt of her shuriken, the other hanging limply at her side. This odd, un-Yuffie-like behavior wouldn't have been much of a problem had not another, larger fire heartless appeared to replace its fallen brethren.

"Yuffie!" Leon shouted, voice hoarse, "_Move_!"

The girl jerked ungracefully to one side and swung her sharp weapon around in a circle, cutting the beast in half. It vanished like the other—following its departure was a heavy silence, filled only by Squall's grave breathing and Yuffie's uncharacteristic panting.

She hooked her shuriken on her back and slowly looked up to meet Leon's eyes, appearing for all the world like a guilty child. "Hehe, sorry Squall…"

"Yuffie. Are you alright?" Leon wondered what she could have gotten, and a small nagging doubt grew at the back of his mind—he pushed it away.

No. It wasn't that. No way.

"Yep. I'm just really tired still. Maybe I'm developing narcolepsy or something."

Her voice was too serious, lacking her usual bubble. Her shoulders drooped as she let out a huge yawn—as if to prove her point. Leon shook his head but said nothing; pushing past the girl he moved to hop down the steps leading towards the postern.

"Come on." He said gruffly.

* * *

"Cid, have you heard from Cloud at all?" Aerith worriedly twirled a strand of hair around one finger. "It's been so long…"

"Nope, and I've been searchin' all over hell and half a garden for him. Stupid bastard, leaving us hanging like this." Cid munched heartily down on the worn piece of hay hanging from his mouth, watching as Aerith steepled her fingers before her. Something then seemed to occur to him. "Where's the brat? And Leon?"

"Yuffie…overslept. She's coming, along with Leon."

"Stupid brat." Cid grumbled, fiddling some more with his lone piece of hay.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," a new voice entered the small study, from the direction of the postern. Aerith looked up expectantly only to meet Merlin's eyes.

"Any longer, old man, and I woulda left." Cid huffed.

"Well excuse me, good sir," Merlin grumbled, hobbling over to the white board they had placed in front of the large painting of Ansem himself, "but I had a lot of information to bring over."

Aerith thought he made quite the picture in his purple robes and pointed hat, his gray bread spilling over his chest and coming to a stop somewhere around his knees—usually looking at Merlin made her want to smile, as did simply being with the old wizard.

But not today.

As Merlin set up copying some notes onto the white board Cid grew even more impatient; Aerith through a side long glance at him, noticed his jittery behavior. "Merlin," she said quietly, "Yuffie and Leon are going to be late. Why don't we start without them?"

"Damn good idea, Aerith, damn good…" Cid faded off, glaring abruptly at Merlin's unsure features.

"Well, then, if you're sure Ms. Aerith…" Merlin glanced back at her, hands clasped before him.

"Quite."

"I have…nothing new in the heartless area to report. We seem to be getting a steady stream, though the defense system we set up is working flawlessly. Combined with your efforts, these heartless pose a small threat to the townspeople of Radiant Garden.

The reconstruction of the Old Town district is proceeding smoothly as well. I have, unfortunately, no news of our missing friend, and no idea as of yet how difficult traveling between the worlds will now be as the borders are slowly closing up.

With these thoughts in mind I do have one article that needs to be at the forefront of everyone's mind."

"Just get to the damn point, old man," Cid coughed. "You called this meetin' for a reason, stop skirting the issue like a ballerina."

"Very well then, young man—rest assured you will not like what you hear. You are working at the construction area, are you not?"

"…Yeah. I am. So?"

"So have you noticed anything unusual?"

"Well nothin' much…building is on schedule…"

"I mean, in regards to the workers."

"Well yeah. We're havin' a decrease. They keep calling in sick. Some kinda flu or somethin' going around."

"And you, Aerith my dear, you are working at the hospital, correct?"

"Only on Saturday and Sunday nights."

"In your short time there have you noticed anything?"

"…Yes. There has been an increase in patients requesting heavy duty pain killers…"

"What are ya gettin' at, old man?" Cid's voice came out a whisper and he chewed more frantically on his piece of hay. Aerith twirled her thumbs anxiously. "Surely it's just a coincidence." She said. "It's just the flu and an increase in…I don't know, arm breakage or something…"

The excuse, the explanation she had arrived at sounded weak even to her own ears. Her eyes widened as she let the magnitude of what was yet unsaid fall upon her.

"I'm afraid not, my dear. Lately I, too, have had an increase in patients, all showing similar symptoms. Later research shows that they had similar…endings as well."

"Are you saying," Aerith's voice was small, "that we have the beginnings of…an epidemic on our hands?"

"Unless we can find a cure, I fear so."

"Well the answer's plain as day!"Cid exclaimed. "Slap some Cure magic on the fools and send them back to work!"

"I'm afraid I've tried that. Nothing works. I have no cure."

"What exactly does the…disease entail?" Aerith said quietly.

"I've named it. We couldn't very well be facing down a nameless foe, could we? It will be known as Geostigma."

"Geostigma." Aerith repeated slowly, tasting the word; it left a bad flavor in her mouth and a tight feeling in her stomach. Beside her Cid rubbed his temples.

"The symptoms follow a basic pattern—the beginning of which is usually lethargy, over sleeping, or sleeping more than necessary. I believe this is the body's first attempt to fight the alien matter within it. This is followed by bouts of dizziness; usually the patient feels severe pain at some part of their body—wherever the infected area resides. This area is marked by a black rash that, at times, seems to pulsate. It leaves a sticky black residue." Here Merlin took a breath, lifting his glasses to rub at the eyes beneath them. "However, I can't find the source. I have been in close contact with nearly twenty patients, yet I haven't contracted the disease myself…this leads me to believe that it is not airborne, and thus not a virus…I don't know. I'm truly at my wit's end with this case."

Aerith had her hands fisted in her skirt and Cid was trying to figure out why—her knuckles were white with strain and when she finally relinquished her grip the fabric was bunched and wrinkled horribly; her hands held nail marks. "What's the result? What happens at the end?" her voice was frantic.

"All the cases I have studied end in…in either death or…" Merlin, looking at Aerith's stricken face and Cid's pale one, didn't have the heart to go on. The gruff blonde made the decision for him, though—

"Or what?"

"Or transformation into a heartless."

In the silence that followed the door leading into the study swung open, creaking on old hinges that were supposed to be oiled long ago by Cid but never were—

"Hey guys," Yuffie bounded in, grim-faced Leon following behind, "sorry I'm late—"

Aerith began to cry.

* * *

The boy looked over the top of his book at the desk diagonally across from his own—it sat empty, the plastic chair unoccupied, void of its usual cheerful occupant. He then turned slowly, keeping one ear open to make sure the teacher was still submersed within his own lecture, to get a look at the table behind him. Again, like the first, it stood empty, forlorn. His third sneak-look brought him to stare over the top of a couple heads to the desk in the far corner—

Again, empty.

Tidus vaguely wondered what the three could be doing that was so important; school had been in session not three weeks before they began to skip class on a regular basis, and now they didn't even bother coming at all.

Tidus rubbed at his eye, catching Wakka's as the tanned boy looked back at his friend to make a face about today's lesson. The funny thing, he was thinking, is that they aren't even at the island. Tidus would know—he'd been over twice, once with Selphie, and the two had scoured the place. The missing members of their group were no where to be found.

When he called their homes he got the message machine, and no one answered to his knocks. He was beginning to wonder.

Sighing, he began to tap his pencil in an odd rhythm on the fake wood, earning him a warning look from his teacher. This feeling, it seemed so familiar too—he couldn't place a finger on it, the time or place, however. It kept flitting out of reach.

Was there another time when this happened? When the infamous trio were gone and—

Tidus cringed as a sudden headache overtook him. The boy wasn't stupid, though; he knew something was up.

Now he just had to find out what.

* * *

Yuffie felt like laughing—her world was slowly falling about her ears and she felt like laughing. Her feet dangled over the large cliff separating the Dark Depths from the rest of the world, a small breeze churning her short hair over her eyes.

She didn't feel sick. Not at all.

That didn't convince Aerith, though, who did nothing but bawl as Merlin explained that new epidemic-thing to her and Leon. Cid, she mused, just looked really, really confused.

Squall looked pale, though, and if anything worried her that did.

She sighed, laying back on the dusty ground so she could look at the pale pink sky above her, tainted with the rays of the setting sun.

Merlin seemed to think that caution was best, and had told her to stay off her feet, report any dizzy spells, anything unusual—

As standard, then, upon receiving such specific orders as that Yuffie, stomach full of lead, heart beating fast, proceeded at her fastest sprint from the study, past the postern, and continued at the hard pace until the Crystal Caverns, at which point her right leg gave way beneath her. She pitched forward into the dirt, wanting to cry but instead just heaving deep breaths, in out, in out, inout, inoutinout—

See? She wanted to say, I just have a cold, I'm sorry I slept in, but if I had that stupid Geo whatever Merlin named it I couldn't possibly have run all the way from the study to the caverns—

Yuffie moved once more into a sitting position. This disease, the information just hadn't yet sunk in. There was no way that this thing would become an epidemic, much less take down her, the number one ninja in Radiant Garden; Merlin had seemed pretty adamant, however. She sighed, passing a hand over her face.

She figured Squall would tell Aerith to go home, and would come looking for her himself. She also figured on Cid leaving to work in his shop. And, that leaving only Leon on the lookout, she knew she had at least another thirty minutes. Squall probably knew where she was, and was just giving her time to be alone, digest it.

She didn't want to digest anything, though—this sleeping in, the dizzy spells, the pain—it had to all be happenstance. She couldn't think of anything else she had done that would have merited her catching this strange disease.

She was startled from her revere by the sound of footsteps—so quiet that, had she not been the best ninja around, she would have missed them. The sheer softness made her pause, for she knew that Leon walked with the grace of an overgrown donkey, as did Cid. Cloud was minutely better, but only by a little—perhaps Tifa had found her? No, impossible, Tifa hadn't been seen since Cloud disappeared—

She stretched her hands above her head, feeling the last rays of the sun catch the tips of her fingers as the world became drenched in shadow. Slowly, she thought, slowly…her hands began to sink towards the handle of her shuriken, resting on her back—

There was a loud click and suddenly she felt a pressure on her right temple; her hands dropped quickly to the ground, hitting it hard as her gray eyes glanced at the gun.

A gun, short-barreled, rested against her skull, ready to shoot her at point blank range the moment she made any sudden movements. She could see a long chain dangling from the end of the butt, silver and barely catching the fading light. She couldn't quite put a name on the shape or design but something about it struck a cord in her mind. She then took in the finger resting on the trigger, followed it up until she could make out a hand, then arm, then body—

She was wondering what she had done to karma that merited her getting such a crappy day when she found herself drowning in eyes that were the blood-red crimson—

This is most definitely, a part of Yuffie's mind whispered, not happenstance.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **please read and review! i'd love to know what you think. thank you also to NinjaSheik, InkLaVie, and Death by Default for reviewing last chapter :D

* * *

**Chapter Two: Convergence**

"Owww…" she moaned, forcing her legs to move beneath her, scraping exposed knees on the rough concrete. She couldn't see anything, just darkness, yet there was a light burned on her eyes from that strange object they had found. "Paine? Yunie? You guys!"

"Shut. Up."

"Paine! You're alive! Thank goodness!" She pushed her hands into the air and groped blindly forward in the darkness. "I. Can't. See—" she grunted with exertion, before leaning too far forward and toppling into another warm body.

"Sorry!"

"It's ok, Rikku."

"Yunie!" Rikku squealed in delight, hauling herself back into a sitting position. "Good, everyone's alive!"

"Unfortunately."

"Paine, shuddup, alright? Big poopie."

"Um, guys—" Yuna fumbled forward, trying to stop their escalating voices.

"I don't have to listen to you." Paine's voice was sharp, cutting, and Rikku's response was full of flippant attitude.

"Well excuse me, then."

"Rikku, Paine—"

"You are too exuberant for your own good."

"Somebody needs to be! And for the record Paine, you are no longer happmazing."

"Can't you speak like a _normal_ person?"

"Guys!"

"What?!" Rikku and Paine's voices echoed in unison, resounding in the darkness. The three stayed silent, listening to the reverberations fade into the black.

"Try to fly."

Rikku wanted to tell her friend that she was requesting something quite silly—ever since being cursed by that evil witch flying was second-nature to them; to prove her unspoken point Rikku urged herself upward, imagined herself soaring above the clouds, as if gravity had no effect—

Only to find herself remaining firmly planted on the ground. She huffed. "Why's it not working?"

"Do you think…?" Paine let her question end in the air. Yuna sat up, not daring to allow herself to hope. "Let's get outside," she whispered, "then we'll see."

Rikku made to stand but her shaky legs, unused for so long, gave way beneath her. "It's no use, I'm just gonna crawl…" she sighed.

"Don't try standing," Paine's rough voice came out of the darkness, "the ceiling's too low, we can't stand straight."

"Crawling it is then," Yuna pushed herself onto her knees and scooted a hand forward until she came in contact with a foot. "Paine? Is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Rikku, grab my foot."

"Got it."

"Ok. Paine, you're in the front—lead us out."

"Right."

The cave that had moments before seemed impossibly large and imposing now showed it's true colors—it was nothing more than a crawl space, one way in, one way out, and once they had set forward the three figured they were bound to find the exit. Aside from the occasional banged toe or hurt forehead the journey out was uneventful—so much so that Rikku had been lulled into a sort of silence when Paine said, "I see an exit."

The fading light from outside illuminated a small hole; even the dim light hurt their eyes and, blinking fast and hard, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine emerged to the old ruins.

"Thank goodness," Rikku scrambled to her feet, closing her eyes and pushing her hands against her back to smooth out the kinks, "I thought that was never, ever, ever going to end—"

"Rikku!" Yuna was laughing and clapping her hands together, and she kept rubbing frantically at her eyes.

"What?" Rikku stopped mid-stretch. She peered at her friend, who began laughing harder, and asked, "Are you alright, Yunie? I think something's wrong."

"You're stupid," Paine brought her fist down lightly upon her head. "We weren't even in there for that long, and you forget the most important thing."

"What?" Rikku repeated. "I'm so confused!"

"Look at yourself, silly!" Yuna, Rikku could see, was well and truly crying now, smiling in a blithe sort of way. She obeyed her friend and peered downward, then took a good long look at the girls beside her.

It had been so long, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be normal sized—her feet were now the size of the small rocks littering the ruins, which had felt before like something akin to small mountains. Her arms grappled playfully at the sun's setting rays, reaching upward towards the light in a cat like manner. "I feel so tall!" She looked at Yuna, who was standing rather awkwardly, as if trying to get used to her new size, and returned a grin.

"I can hardly believe it." Yuna whispered, still smiling uncontrollably. "It hasn't really sunk in, you know?"

"Yunie we're normal again!" Rikku laughed, bounding forward to tackle her friend in a hug. "Has it sunk in now?"

"You guys." Paine's voice floated towards them from somewhere nearer to the entrance of the ruins, bouncing strangely loud over the houses and buildings that had until quite recently seemed too large to venture near. Yuna and Rikku both stopped laughing, quieted by the menace lacing her voice.

"…Ya?" Rikku gulped, grabbing Yuna's hand and tugging her forward, past the shattered remnants of a square or two, up a small incline, and to where Paine stood, looking up. The silver-hair girl looked extremely annoyed.

"I hate to break up the 'I'm Large, Let's Celebrate' reunion, or anything, but any idea as to how we are going to get ourselves up there?" Paine gritted her teeth and pointed. Rikku followed her hand up, up, up the large near-mountain face drop they had descended quite easily in fairy form. She then peered down at her legs, which felt extremely heavy, and her arms, which hadn't been used for climbing in _never_ and then her gaze alighted on Yuna, who was biting her lip, and she was suddenly not so happy about having to spend the night down here in these ruins.

Yuna took a few steps back to survey the lip of the cliff, trying to search for a hand or foot hold but coming up empty. There was an odd, grayish sort of blob, near the top there—she squinted, using her hand to block the setting sun's rays. "Hey, are those shoes?"

_______

"I've had enough!" the boy threw his arms exasperatedly into the air, disrupting his book bag which lay over his shoulder. As he readjusted it he looked towards his friend for some sort of reaction, but Wakka's face just looked thoughtful. "They've been gone forever."

"Nah, man," Wakka shook his head, "they've only been gone a week."

"Not to mention all those skipped days before that—where are they? Maybe they've been kidnapped…"

Wakka frowned, peering up at the sun to buy time; it was Friday, and he would much rather be thinking about his upcoming Blitzball match than the possibility that someone had kidnapped Riku, Kairi, and Sora. (Well, Sora maybe, but no one could get the slip on Kairi, and he seriously had doubts about anyone coming within walking distance of Riku--)

"Wakka!" Tidus was frowning. "What should we do?"

"Nothin', man. We got a Blitzball match today, ya? And tomorrow we have to work on that paper for class. We're booked all weekend."

Tidus stopped at his locker, eyes narrowed, obviously not convinced in the least bit. He sighed, shoving in one binder and taking out another, double-checking for any missed books, before saying, "It's not like I want to stalk them, or anything. It's just…I don't know. I'm getting this weird déjà vu feeling. Like this has happened before, and we missed it then…" Tidus rubbed his forehead, shutting his locker harshly.

"Tidus, Wakka!" The two boys looked up to see Selphie wading through the exodus that littered the halls after the bell rang. "Hey you two, wanna go to the island today? I was going to go look for Riku, Kairi, and Sora again…" she faded off, watching as Wakka shook his head. "What?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"You too, ya?" Wakka kept shaking his head, wisps of red escaping from behind his headband. "You and Tidus here, that's all you can talk about. Riku, Kairi, and Sora. It's not the end of the world, that they're gone. I'm sure they have their reasons—let's leave it at that."

"But Wakka, something's up, I know it!" Selphie began jumping from one foot to the other. "Last time Kairi was acting weird, fainting and all, she was gone for like, two months, then she just poof! magically reappears towing Sora and Riku. Now she _was_ acting weird towards the beginning of school, asked me if I knew what 'geostigma' was, and then poof! she's magically gone, _again_—"

"Cool it, Selph!" Wakka covered her mouth with his hand, watching as her green eyes narrowed in a glare directed at him. "Don't give Tidus any ideas, ya? We got a match today, and _you_ were supposed to come watch, remember?"

She bit her lip, watching the last few stragglers leave the hall. "But…"

"How about tomorrow?" Tidus looked between his two friends, cutting Wakka off as he began once more to shake his head negative. "We'll hit the match tonight, and going tomorrow still leaves all of Sunday to work on our paper. That's good, huh?"

Wakka sighed, beginning to walk down the hall, Tidus and Selphie eagerly following at his side. He didn't want to go look for those three—he had a feeling that they _weren't _supposed to follow them. But Tidus would never shut up, and Selphie would make him feel bad if he didn't agree. He scrabbled feebly for a good counter argument. "But what about your dad?" he jerked his head at Tidus. "Your old man will want you to stay home and work on the paper—"

"My dad's been gone." Tidus looked away. "I thought I told you guys."

"No, what happened?" Selphie glanced around Wakka, concerned. "Are you ok?"

"You've been living all alone, man? Why didn't you say nothin'?"

Tidus scratched his head. "I thought I did. I guess not. I'm a big boy, though," he managed a smile, "so its fine. It's been awhile, anyway, about two or three months. He just upped and left one day, near the beginning of school, the old bastard."

"You have to come stay with me." Wakka placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No one would mind. Have you called the police? Anything?"

"No. I don't really care about him anymore."

"Tidus…" Selphie came around and gave him a brief hug.

"I'm fine, you guys, really."

"Are you sure he ain't hurt or something?" Wakka scratched his head.

"Are you coming to look for them tomorrow or not?" Tidus countered in response, effectively changing the subject. Wakka, defeated and now feeling rather bad, agreed.

"The islands then, tomorrow."

_______

This was wrong. Something had happened and this was wrong—he groaned, body aching, air smelling of grease and gun powder as he sucked it gratefully through his nose. He kept his eyes close, listening, but around him was a cacophony of sounds, difficult to distinguish from one another: a scream, gunshots, an explosion in the distance—not to mention the annoying sound that was entering his ears, a loud and raucous, self-righteous booming that seemed to be coming from some sort of speaker system over head.

No one seemed to be within the vicinity, close enough to do him harm, so he rolled over onto his back, tested his hands against cool metal, and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Only then did he cautiously, slowly open his eyes, whispering as he did, "Kairi? Sora?"

There was no answer; he was surrounded by crates of various sizes, on some sort of cool metal platform in the middle of….green? He didn't really know what lay above him, and, glancing at it curiously, he wondered what the hell happened. He tried to think back to the Gummi Ship, but his vision swirled. He shut his eyes again, rubbing his temples, and for the first time found himself missing the power of darkness.

It had made travel easier.

Something had attacked them, he remembered that, something large protruding from the normal obstacles found within the nether region between worlds. It had torn off the roof of the ship, exposing its crew to winds and gales, causing the seatbelt strapping Riku in to break, sending him careening off into nothing and down some portal—

He blanched, wondering about his friends. When he opened his eyes again the shouting was closer. Something hit the metal platform behind him, and he whipped around too fast; the world swirled, and it was all he could manage to drag himself behind the nearest crate, crouching low.

A woman was talking impatiently to a dark-skinned fellow with clipped tones. She motioned down the causeway, and began to walk forward with a purpose, much to her companion's chagrin.

Riku decided that because he was currently ship-less and friendless, he would follow these people; it wouldn't get him in as much trouble as following Kairi and Sora, that's for sure.

_______

"That's it; I'm going out to look for her." Squall shouldered his gunblade but was stopped by Aerith's gentle head shake.

"Don't, Leon, let her be alone for awhile." She bit her lip and looked to Cid for support. "Don't you think she just needs time to think? It's a lot to process."

"She doesn't have time to 'think!'" Leon was getting restless. His voice came out harsher than intended, but everyone had, since leaving Ansem's study, since letting Yuffie run hastily off, been tip-toeing around the subject. Someone had to say it. "She. Is. Going. To. Die. And we need to find a cure, which can't happen when she's off who knows where, doing who knows what!"

"Merlin doesn't know how to find a cure." Aerith was near tears. "So are we supposed to drag her back her, subject her to a few tests, then hope for the best? A few hours it not going to make a difference—"

"Go find the brat," Cid was looking away, out the window, chewing heartily on the hay piece he kept forever in his mouth. Aerith looked slightly hurt that he didn't back her up, but said nothing as Leon stormed out of the home into the setting sun outside.

_______

He awoke to shallow breathing; he kept his eyes closed, and it took him a minute to realize that his was the only breath, and that not another sound greeted his ears. He wondered faintly, if he was dead, tried to recall his last waking moment, and saw grayish things destroying his ship and ripping him away from everyone and everything. He groaned, slowly pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, opening his eyes as he stood.

Flat land, dark and depressing, greeted his probing, stretching on infinitely in all directions. The sky overhead was shielded in a harsh layer of cloud covering, and the wreckage of the Gummi Ship was no where to be seen. Neither, in fact, was Riku. Or Kairi.

Sora stood, suddenly frantic—where were they? Riku got torn out of the ship earlier, so chances are he wasn't on this world (wherever that was) at all, but Kairi had been holding onto his hand until he blacked out. He shouted both their names, just to be safe, but no one answered. In fact, the sound seemed to die off, several feet from him. He repeated his cry, and again there was no answer.

Did this mean that the borders between worlds were breaking up? That the worlds themselves were no longer simply available to be opened by a boy with a key? Or that something was keeping travelers from moving between worlds themselves? Sora shook his head, twirling around in a circle; there was still nothing around him but flat, desert gray. He sighed.

The noise came softly at first, a faint calling. It was hard to hear, and he had to strain, but suddenly, as if the speaker had passed through an invisible barrier, the words were loud and clear. He spun again, to find himself looking at crimson eyes and raven-hair—

"Sora? Sora it is you!" The woman rain forward to envelop the boy in a motherly type hug. He laughed, slightly confused at her appearance but figuring that questions could wait until after the reunion.

"Tifa!"

She stepped back, nodding, "Mm-hmm. But what on earth are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Sora peered around him at the desolate landscape. "I was calling, and looking, but no one was around me. Then you just _appear_." Sora sent her an odd look. "Are you magic?"

"No." she shook her head adamantly, following his gaze around the wasteland. "I've been looking for Cloud—I followed him, through the light, and somehow wound up here. I haven't seen him yet, but I suddenly heard this noise; I turned, and I saw you."

"Like…teleportation?" Sora scratched his head, trying in vain to decipher this odd new world. "What is this place, anyway?"

"The in-between. Right now we're in the in-between."

_______

Yuffie was making her peace. Well, she was soundlessly making her peace, because out loud, when she spoke, she sounded brave. Or at least, she thought she did. It was hard to judge things correctly when the cold metal of a gun is pressed up against your head.

"Go on, shoot me." She was looking sideways, still into the mystery-man's eyes. His mouth was covered by a large red-cape, his skin pale, almost-like…almost like a vampire or something. " 'S'not like it matters much, anyway. I'm just gonna die soon. Or turn into a heartless. Whichever comes first. You know," here she paused, brain suddenly going into overdrive, "I didn't think about this, but I'm friends with the key-bearer. So when I _do_ turn into a heartless Squall'll be too scared to kill me himself, right? So he'll call Sora, and Sora will have to do it." She stopped abruptly. She was rambling—she realized she did that a lot when she was scared. She was also half-expecting a response from the man, but he gave none. Just stood there, glaring stonily at her.

"Who are you, anyway?" Yuffie, suddenly tired and very indignant, was flipping through her memory. "I've never seen you in Radiant Garden before. Are you from another world? Are you a ninja? An assassin? Come to slay the number _one_ ninja, which you aren't?"

The setting sun had settled right on the horizon and decided to stubbornly land its half-lit rays right in her eyes. Her feet swung precariously over the edge of the Dark Depths. She was tired and sleepy and a little dizzy, but she thought that maybe, just maybe, she could pull this off—

Quick as a flash her hand was on her shuriken, her elbow pushing up on the man's arm so the bullet he shot off glanced harmlessly to the side. Her feet skirted the cliff edge as she moved into a defensive position, right off a back-handspring. She smirked. "Shoot me now, monster man."

"Vincent!" the voice wasn't hers and didn't belong to any she knew—she peered towards the entrance to the little overhang to see a girl a little older than herself rushing forward. Her chocolate brown hair streamed out behind her, and she quickly skidded to a stop beside the red-eyed, wanna-be ninja assassin. Her hand moved the gun down.

"Everyone's looking for you," her voice was urgent, "you need to get back, now." She looked at Yuffie. "And why are you shooting at this poor girl, hm?"

Yuffie snorted.

"She has the stigma. She could attract it—" his voice was soft, like velvet, with a twang, like—Yuffie laughed. Like gunpowder. She twirled her shuriken back into place, watching as the newcomer cut him off. "No time for that now, Rufus is angry." The girl tugged at his cape; Yuffie watched as he followed rather reluctantly, down the slight incline that marked the entrance.

She was confused. Scratch that. She was hella confused. Who were they? And Rufus? Who was that? More importantly, they were going to kill her because she had the stigma.

Her brain suddenly hurt. Every little noise seemed impossibly loud in her ears, and she swayed. The sun had set, pinks casting a pale little glow over everything. It was so peaceful, with that man gone; the adrenaline had left her system as suddenly as it had come. A little nap wouldn't hurt, would it…

"Yuffie!" there was a vice-like grip on her arm and she looked down, found herself staring into open air, and screamed a little. Something strong pulled her back onto solid ground, where she slid to the floor. "What the hell was that?" Squall was saying, angry. "Were you trying to…?" he let the question hang in the air, throwing his gunblade on the ground and squatting beside her.

"No. Hell no, I was not trying to jump." Yuffie grumped, scooting forward and away from him, hanging her feet once more over the side of the cliff; that made Squall uncomfortable, it seemed, for he scooted forward, looking as if he was about ready to catch her. "I just fell asleep, s'all."

"By the edge of a cliff?" Squall looked torn between wanting to slap her and wanting to hug her, and Yuffie was on the verge of telling him about the monster-man and the chick when she heard a racket from below her. She scooted back and inched forward on her hands and knees, Squall glancing over her shoulder.

"Down here! Hey! Hey! Hey!" there was a tiny figure down at the bottom of the chasm. _How did they end up down there?_ Yuffie wondered, making out two more shapes. She yelled back down.

"Hey, what are you idiots doing down there?"

"Yuffie?" came the response. "Is that you?"

"How in Ansem's name do you know me?!" Yuffie was tired of mysterious people; she had had her fill for the night. Squall shouted down, "State your name."

Huh. So very Squall-sounding.

"It's me! Rikku! From the Gull Wings! Yunie and Paine are here too!"

"Rikku?" Squall replied. "Just fly up then."

"We can't, Squall," Rikku responded, and Leon rubbed the bridge of his noise. Yuffie and the blonde-fairy had both taken to calling him that. He was about to correct her but she continued. "We can't fly anymore!"

"Please help us." That voice sounded lighter. Yuna, maybe? Leon sighed.

"Hold on, I'll be back with help, ok?"

"Okie dokie, Squall man," Rikku yelped. He rolled his eyes, scooting backward and helping Yuffie to her feet. She dusted off her shorts, about to say something, but he cut her off.

"This doesn't change anything." He turned and began walking, but she had been hanging around him long enough to know that he really meant, _this doesn't change the fact that I am going to interrogate you first chance I get_. She sighed, tiredly and somewhat dejectedly, following him.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** so things are finally coming together!...sort of. :D i hope you like this chapter, thank you to NinjaSheik, Death by Default, InkLaVie, and violinbelle109100 for reviewing.

Please read and review!

* * *

**Chapter Three: Beginnings**

"Nobody's gonna be there, Selph," Wakka sighed, watching as his friend toppled head first into the row boat, righting herself with easy grace. She grinned at her mishap and patted the bench across from her, to which Wakka entered somewhat reservedly. Tidus, pushing the boat off from the harbor and jumping in, scoffed.

"Can't you feel it?" The ocean breeze was playing with his sandy hair, sending it whipping across his face. His eyes were distant, peering out past the sun's rays to the island, where it rested in the bright blue water.

"Sit down man, I can't feel nothin' but sick with you rockin' the boat like that." Wakka tugged on his friend's blitzball practice shorts until he sat down, as high as he could in the little transport currently getting tossed about on the waves.

"It feels like something's about to begin." Tidus leaned forward, grabbing an oar and helping Selphie; the boat was towed about roughly in churlish waters, and Wakka looked about uneasily, taking the oar from Selphie as she tired out.

"Begin? You sure you up, ya?" Wakka shook his head. "Nothing's about to begin. We just goin' to the island like any other time."

Selphie wasn't listening, eyes only on their childhood home as they neared the shore. She was scanning the sand, the small deck, the fort, anything in sight. Her head stopped moving. "I don't know Wakka," she pointed excitedly at the beach, rocking the boat in her enthusiasm, "maybe Tidus is right."

A girl lay in the sand.

_______

When he awoke he had to blink a couple of times, to take in his surroundings. He was lying in something soft, warm and inviting; it was a struggle to remain awake, when his body felt so tired, and he forced himself to sit up, stay conscious, alert, old habits kicking in as he scanned the area around him. He noticed his hand hurt from gripping something too tightly, and he looked down at his buster sword, where it was crushing several flowers that were white and gold and seemed to emit their own light.

So that was what his soft bed had been. He stood up, feeling fragile stems break beneath his heavy weight as he pushed himself to his feet. He took up his sword and swung it around to the holster on his back, comforted at its familiar weight. Taking a step forward he noted at the odd position of the flowers—a perfect circle, extending about ten feet in each direction before fading into a dusty desert. Blue sky filtered down white clouds at him, until it faded to an ugly gray where the flowers ended.

Footsteps. Behind him. His momentary peace was shattered; he was a fool to have believed that nothing could harm him here—especially since he had no idea where Sephiroth had gone (that was a hazy memory, of light and then darkness and then nothing, of waking up here with no one)—he spun around, sword coming out in one smooth motion, ready to face the worst, should it come—

No one was there. Just the flowers rustling, as if someone had run through them. He heard the footsteps again, from his left, and peered sideways.

"You came." Swinging to his right, breathing hard, he noticed no one, and was beginning to get frustrated when something warm lay on his upper arm and a presence, solid and real, could be felt at his back.

"Silly Cloud, always ready to fight."

"Who are you?" He let his sword drop faintly to his side. "Where am I?"

"Do you know me, Cloud?" She didn't answer his question. The voice, feminine and light, with a hint of a laugh underneath, seemed so familiar. He narrowed his eyes, taking in the ethereal flowers near his left foot.

"Aerith?" He spoke finally. "Why are you—"

"No, not Aerith." The hand was gone from his arm. His patience was wearing thin. He didn't know where he was, or how he got there. The flowers were sending up a heady aroma, something that itched at the back of his mind. He turned his head slightly, trying to glimpse the figure standing straight and soft behind him, only to see brown and pink.

"Who are you then?" his brow was still knitted. Taking a step forward, he swung his sword once more into its place at his back, and turned around.

She was not there. Instead a light laugh filtered through the odd clearing, and he felt the presence again at his back. "No peeking," she scolded. "Not yet."

"Who are you?" he repeated his inquiry for the third time, becoming annoyed at the way this girl was flitted about the answers like a butterfly, or bird, or Yuffie after coffee.

"Your friends are coming." Again, no specific answer, just a general statement. "Your light and the boy with the key."

"My…light?" The boy with the key. That meant Sora was here, wherever here was, but as to the other—

"Yes, silly. Goodness knows you have enough, though, even if you don't think so."

He chose not to respond. He only wanted to ask more questions, and he had the sneaking suspicion that not a single one would be answered, that this girl would move along at her own pace.

"Now, I need to talk to you, before the others find out I'm gone. That's why I brought you here."

"Others…?"

"Mmhmm. Others like me. Some of them wouldn't want me talking to you." She leaned back, and he could feel her thin weight pressing against his shoulders. "Cloud, you've been gone a long time. Things are changing, back in your home.

Something's coming. Something big. You have to stop it—if we continue with our plan then nothing will change. It'll just be a vicious cycle, and it'll start all over again."

"I don't understand—"

"The Holy Materia. It's the key to everything, Cloud; you have to find it, because if you don't, your world will disappear. Only, not to the darkness, this time, but something worse. Something in which all the badness dwells."

"Are you saying…Radiant Garden will disappear? But the Organization, the heartless and the nobodies, they're all gone."

"And the Lifestream. Remember that—it'll come in handy." It was like he hadn't even spoken. Her words, still light and kind, were more hurried. "Don't let it consume you, Cloud, or you'll become just like us…"

He could not take it anymore, this strange girl, and he turned quickly to find her walking off, nearing the edge of the flowers, pink dress swaying in her own personal breeze. She stopped, almost stepping on the desolate sand on the other side of the clearing, but before she did she turned, slowly, carefully, and her green eyes met his blue ones—

And he remembered a church in the slums and a group of friends and more flowers like these and death, always death and he spoke, "Aeris," in a kind of breathy whisper, even though he didn't at all recognize the name and he watched as she smiled and turned again to leave, past the barrier, onto the sand, traveling far away from him.

Why was he suddenly crying?

_______

They couldn't find a rope that was long enough; in the end Merlin had to conjure up a ladder, one that banged and teetered feebly in every little breeze, causing Rikku to pause, sometimes for minutes on end, until the movement stopped and she scurried upward, her arms and legs tired from disuse. She was last to fling herself onto the stony precipice, swearing to anyone listening that she would never, never, ever, never climb down into the ruins again. Ever.

Leon, being Leon, watched the whole fiasco with somewhat muted indifference. His eyes were constantly wavering to the girl beside him, the one who he could not, for the life of him, convince to stay at home when they went to get Merlin. The old wizard had fussed about for a moment, scratching his graying hair, before waving his wand and making a used-looking rope ladder appear folded on the floor.

"You should really be off that leg, dear," was the last thing he said as the door closed, and Yuffie indignantly shouted back that she was fine, and, as if to prove a point, proceeded to carry the load by herself until the twisted path winding down to the Crystal Cavern.

She had stopped suddenly there, her arms letting go of the ladder which fell to the ground with a dull-ish sort of thud. She looked forlornly down at it, and Leon held his breath as she struggled to open her mouth.

"I'm fine." She choked out, clearly the opposite. "Just think you should carry it some, Squall, prove your manhood and all that jazz."

He hadn't wanted to say anything, but, figuring normalcy in this situation was the best, shouldered the ladder with an irate, "…Whatever."

He could tell she had worn herself out; her pace was slow, and upon tying the ladder to an anchor she sat rather ungracefully down, her legs spread out beneath, looking young and completely drained. Now, as Rikku finally made the pilgrimage to solid ground, she was flat on her back, looking at the stars. Leon rubbed his face.

"Thank you so much, Leon." Yuna came up to him with a little bow; she was grinning from ear to ear, despite her long trek.

"…Yeah. No problem." He rubbed his hair uncomfortably, as now Yuna seemed faintly older than her pixie form. Paine walked stoically up beside her, silver hair glinting in the moonlight. She nodded once, before proceeding to haul Rikku to her feet.

"How did you three change?"

That was Yuffie, finally seeming to take some interest in what was happening at hand. Rikku pursed her lips, glancing upward. "I don't know, exactly. One minute we were super small, the next, bam!" and here she extenuated her speech with a large, outlandish arm motion, throwing her hands to the sky.

"I think we found a Materia or something, I'm not exactly sure," Yuna looked down at the ruins they had just escaped from, dark night breeze tousling her clothes and hair. "But down there, I don't know…I get the feeling anything could be down there, you know?"

Leon nodded his consent, watching the three normal-sized girls begin to fold up the ladder, Paine directing from behind and Yuna and Rikku hauling up the coarse material. When they had gathered it all they let it sit in a tangled pile. "Where do you want it, Squall?" Rikku asked, green eyes glinted with mischief. He sighed, not about to correct her and motioned a few feet away from the cliff edge.

"There, so it doesn't fall."

"You sure you don't want us to take it back to Merlin's?" Paine raised an eyebrow.

"No, its fine there." Leon shook his head. "Then if we have an emergency we can get down."

"Good choice, Squally, cause I don't feel like hauling it back to the old man's place." Rikku was hopping towards the Crystal Caverns. "Hey, do you think he'll let us stay the night?"

"I'm sure." Leon said dryly. "But I'd leave now, before he falls asleep."

"Okie dokie then." The blonde bounded away, shouting, "Thanks again, Squall! You too, Yuffie!" then, "Hurry up Paine! Yunie!"

Paine rolled her eyes and jogged after her, while Yuna twirled happily on the spot. "Thank you, Leon, Yuffie." She smiled, and with a half-wave followed the rest of the Gull Wings off into the dark.

_______

Cid threw the wrench he was holding; it left his hand, sailed through the air, and landed with a clatter among the oil and grease he would need later. He rubbed his eyes, hands, slippery with work and sweat, leaving black marks on his face. The hay in his mouth was looking rather forlorn, and he threw that as well. It wasn't quite as satisfying, however, as the heavy wrench—it left his arm in a slow, downward spiral, to which he responded with a muttered curse, licking his dry lips.

The garage was quiet. Only a couple of harsh, fluorescent lights threw the ship he was working on into sharp perspective. He was supposed to be able to relax here, in this little haven, but couldn't seem to tonight. He almost wished he had construction work; maybe the monotony would have dulled his thinking process, because this certainly hadn't. It only seemed to sharpen it.

The brat had the stigma. And, now that he thought back, he could think of several other people who had it recently as well. Merlin said the cases were growing.

He thought that Fate would be done tossing them around, after destroying, replacing, and rebuilding their shattered world. He thought that he could live out the rest of his life in some semblance of peace with those he almost called family surrounding him. His dirty hand found blonde hair, leaving black streaks in his wake. Suddenly Cid was tired. He was tired because he felt the world was going to shit, and he didn't have any idea how to stop it. He stood.

The heavy barn door locked with a satisfying click, and he bid his newest project one final goodnight before shrugging on his old jacket and huffing away the cold from his hands. He was about to head towards home but swerved at the last minute, towards the seedy part of Radiant Garden. His boots clattered along water-filled streets as he hunkered down past pairs of eyes that stared greedily at him and his belongings, past the bars letting out drunkards at this late hour, past several people who were writhing in agony on the floor—

He shut his eyes against the scene and let his feet carry him into the crappy looking store, one he hadn't visited in several years since Aerith, then a young child, and Yuffie, with more hyperactive brat-ness than he was used to, had made him quit smoking. His mouth twitched as the tobacco stench hit his nostrils.

When he had bought three packs he headed outside, immediately lighting one and throwing years of hard-work staying on the wagon out the window. He dragged in deeply, lungs instantly loosening up to that familiar smoky sensation. He exhaled slowly, letting the thick, gray fog filter into his nose and lie around his face. The night was dark, and the only light came from his small, red ember as he took another puff.

The world was going to shit, anyway.

_______

She coughed as she passed a smoking man who was staring broodily into the sky, apparently examining the stars which were dark and barely noticeable tonight. He sent her a glare, which she ignored, continuing down the dilapidated street past a couple more bars. She was dutifully ignoring the wolf-whistles and foul taunts as well, heading down as she turned into an unnoticeable alley. She was let out onto a sort of boulevard, long abandoned by any business or warehouses as the neighborhood around it deteriorated. She crossed to a worn looking metal warehouse, the kind they used to use for shipping but that was now used for something more important. She stopped half-way there to check that the man she cared about was still following behind her.

"Hurry up, Vincent." She jumped a little, motioning for her companion to come closer than six or so paces to her. His eyes barely caught hers.

He was quiet, she thought, biting her lip, more so than normal, and ever since running into that strange girl at the Dark Depths. He was heading there to go into the ruins, she was sure, but had run into a human instead. She sighed.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Shall we keep moving?" She pursed her lips at the brusque answer, tinged with a sort of exasperation. He spoke in formal tongues when he was angry or distracted, and, quite unable to deal with angry-Vincent or distracted-Vincent when they were already so late, she moved toward the warehouse, the only one emitting a soft sort of light. He had to help her push the door open.

Inside a ring of light was given off by a flickering emergency lantern, snitched by one of the Turks, she assumed, on a late night raid. This world was unusual—it seemed to provide in some way whatever they needed.

"You're late, yo." She looked up at the faces ringed in half-light staring at her. "What took you, Rinoa?"

"Hmph." She stuck her tongue out by way of an answer, and the red-head lounging languidly in an old wooden chair, feet mounted on an equally old wooden table, toppled over as he tried to respond with a cool sort of grace. The bald man standing stoically behind him righted the chair as the first man dusted off black pants with a sheepish sort of look; Rinoa bit back laughter.

"Well, now that we are all here," a voice floated out of the darkness, and Rinoa straightened, standing slightly behind the silent Vincent who had come beside her, "we have a couple of matters to discuss."

_______

Sora was becoming immensely tired of the landscape. Tifa was not one for idle chatter, or, it seemed, was too preoccupied with her search for Cloud, so that after randomly choosing a way (it all looked the same!) he was left to his own devices for entertainment. The heavy silence was only broken when Tifa would shout Cloud's name, to which Sora would follow-up right after; the sound died off suddenly after five feet or so, and they would repeat their screams five or six times.

There weren't even any rocks to count, Sora thought bitterly, as he yawned. His body still ached from the Gummiship crash, but he wasn't about to complain. He felt that if they found Cloud he would have a way to get out of this Limbo, and then Sora could go find Riku and Kairi.

"I thought of a better name for this place," Sora said suddenly, his thoughts leading him in a new direction.

"Oh?" Tifa responded distractedly. "I've heard it is the Hinterland, the In-Between, Betwixt…are we going to add a new name to the list, then?" she smiled a bit, and Sora laughed, wondering where she had gotten that information from.

Obviously she had been here quite awhile, how long he did not know; also, he was obviously not the first one she had talked to. His laughed faded off as more questions crowded his mind.

"Well?" Tifa prodded between the sounds of her shoes slapping the hard dirt floor. "What's the new name?"

"I'm thinking Limbo." Sora rubbed his hair, looking first up at the gray sky, then done at the dusty floor, then out at the equally bleak horizon. "You know, like we're kinda stuck someplace weird…haha, I was jut thinking out loud, sorry."

She shook her head no, a small smile creeping on her face. "No." she followed the horizon line, looked behind her for the umpteenth time. "No, Limbo is also a very good name. That's definitely going on the list of names for this creepy-place."

"Where do you think Cloud is?" Sora walked funny as he placed his hands behind his head. He suddenly missed Donald and Goofy, walking like this. It was what the trio had been good at, after all.

"I'm not sure. He wanted to fight alone, I think, but he discovered his light in the end. I'm sure that he beat Sephiroth."

Sora grimaced at the name, remembering the times when he had fought him. It had been difficult, and he had barely escaped, even with the help of his friends—to think that Cloud could manage it alone was something amazing. There was not even a hint of doubt in Tifa's voice.

"But," Sora paused, "how did you know that he was here?"

"I followed him." Tifa said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Sora had to chuckle, but it was cut short as his endless scanning of the horizon brought forth something colorful. He blinked.

"Tifa, do you see that?"

She leaned forward, squinting hard. "Yes." She grabbed his hand suddenly, tugged him forward into a trot, then run, as she shouted, "Come on, someone has to be there!"

As he ran Sora heard what sounded like a rustle of plants, and a light, airy voice seemed to whisper in his ear, _Help him_.

But then, it might have been the wind.

_______

Riku was wrong.

Following these two _had,_ in fact, proved more disastrous than following Sora and Kairi.

He was tired now; there seemed to be a small-scale war being waged around him, but he was only looking for a Gummiship and a way home. The girl proved to be a spitfire, from what he had seen, yet no better at staying out of the fray than Sora himself was. Her companion, the only voice of reason in this insane patch of world, seemed to have a yellow bird living in his hair.

So maybe Riku shouldn't call him a voice of reason.

Now he had taken refuge behind a stack of supply barrels, watching his targets as they made there way across a sort of metal-like bridge, thin, and slippery looking in its construction. He was debating internally whether to wait until they had crossed and then make the pilgrimage or risk being seen before hand so as not to loose sight of them. In the end, he didn't have to make the decision.

A metal beast, the likes of which Riku had not seen in this realm or the dark realm, seem to fall from the sky onto the shaky platform; the girl cursed and jumped back, blade already in her hand, and the man pulled out his guns.

Way of Dawn felt heavy as Riku summoned it into his hand.

Sometimes being made of light was entirely too difficult.

_______

It was very dark and very quiet when Leon and Yuffie finally made it back home. They crept in the backdoor, and for a second or two it was like the old days, where Yuffie would pick the lock Cid would use at night to keep the kids in the house and sprint out into the darkness, Leon close behind to make sure nothing happened, and then the two, after Yuffie climbed herself weary, would tumble quietly back into the house, trying in vain to wake nobody up.

This time they _didn't_ actually wake anyone, though Yuffie tripped over something in the doorway with heavy legs and Squall had to reach out to steady her. She shook him off and continued into the kitchen, eyes downcast and gait rather favoring her injured leg. Squall pulled the tip of his brown hair rather enigmatically, eyes roaming the small entryway before continuing after her.

She was carefully climbing on top of the stove to reach some of the shelves lying above there, foot occasionally slipping and hitting the metal with a slight clang. "Yuffie." Leon hissed, stepping behind her, "Come down."

"Hold on, you impatient monkey, I've almost got it—" She reached in the nearest cabinet and pulled out two long candles before back flipping gracefully off the stove, past Leon, and onto the tile floor. It was so Yuffie in execution that he was almost momentarily able to overlook the way she wobbled at the end, her leg not wanting the extra pressure. He said nothing, only, "Candles?"

"Mhmm," she nodded, wide smile spreading over her face, "snazzy, right? I knew you weren't gonna let an invalid like me actually get some _sleep_, so let's get the interrogation over with now. By candlelight, cause that's more spooky."

She arranged them on both ends of the kitchen table, propping them up by way of the napkin holder, an old knife she hadn't put away, the toaster, and a book Aerith had been reading. "Light them," she shook her head impatiently at Leon, who, frowning, proceeded to blindly grope for the lighter. He was wondering how Yuffie had managed a back flip with no light when he found a box of matches. One _strikehiss_, and the candles were lit, sulfur floating around the kitchen and flame sending shadows flickering against the walls.

Yuffie plopped down in the nearest chair, head lolling back, chest rising and falling slowly. Leon chose to stand, because for some reason his heart was pounding rather forcefully in his chest; before he could get out even a word, however, Yuffie asked quietly, "Have you ever seen a man with red eyes in Radiant Garden?"

That took him aback. "Red? Well, there's probably a couple in town, sure."

"No, no, these eyes were unique. Uh, crimson, I guess, like that crappy wine I got you for your birthday that one time."

"Then no, I don't know anyone with crimson eyes in Radiant Garden."

"What about chocolate brown hair?"

Leon looked at her like she had grown a third head. She frowned defensively. "What?" she exclaimed, and Leon had to motion to her to keep it down. "What?" she hissed again. "Squall—"

"It's Leon." He corrected automatically, before rubbing the bridge of his nose. "That's a horrible description, Yuffie. I can name one person with brown hair who lives in this house _now_—"

"Awright, awright, ya big lug. She was a little older than me. And she wore blue."

Leon's eye itched, his scar hurting oddly. He frowned. "No, I don't recall anyone wearing a blue outfit a little older than you in Radiant Garden, though you are being rather unspecific."

She was fiddling with her hands, her eyes everywhere but directed at him. He sighed, and sat down in the chair across from her. In the candle light her face looked ghostly pale and dark circles were already being painted under her eyes from lack of sleep or too much of it.

The disease sure worked fast.

"What is this about, anyway?" Leon was close to yelling. He had a limited well of patience, and on a normal day Yuffie was usually scraping the bottom. This was worse. "I find you falling off a cliff—"

"I told you, I fell asleep! I'm sorry! I was just so tired!"

"Do you realize that you would have been dead, had I not gotten there in time?"

"And then before that I had to fend off the monster man with red eyes, who was trying to _shoot me_ dammit, and if his girlfriend hadn't come along he probably would have gotten away with it, too, though I would have put up a good fight—"

"Wait a minute. Somebody tried to _shoot you_?"

"And gawd, Squall, before that I had the most horrible thought, how Sora or you will have to do me in if I become a heartless, and Squall, I know you won't want to but please, I know I couldn't land a blow on you—"

"Yuffie."

"I swear on Leviathan, today has been the _worst_ day ever, I cannot believe it. Do you think I'll wake up tomorrow and it'll be a dream? Please say yes. I never imagined that that stupid ass disease would work so fast, I mean, I'm already falling asleep on cliff faces, can't carry a rope ladder, land a flip,_ anything _ without getting tired—"

"Yuffie Kisaragi!"

Yuffie stopped, and realized that somewhere along the way she had started crying, heavy sobs that she couldn't seem to stop. She tried to keep her voice down, because she knew Aerith and Cid were sleeping in their rooms upstairs, and because she knew that their heated whispers had been progressively getting louder. She looked wide-eyed at Leon, shaking her head slowly. "I just don't believe it. Anything."

Leon looked torn between wanting to comfort her and wanting to go find whoever had threatened her and throttle them, but he settled for clenching his teeth and asking, "These people who threatened you…did they say why?"

Yuffie wiped angrily at her eyes. "The red one was the only one who tried to kill me. Said I would attract 'it' because I had the stigma."

" 'It?'"

"I don't know, and I don't give a rat's ass anymore." Yuffie stood up and found a napkin in the flickering light, which she proceeded to attack her face with. Leon stood, and, rather awkwardly, put an arm around the petite girl.

"What's this Squall?" she laughed weakly. "In all the year's I've known you, you never give hugs."

"We'll…find a cure. Don't worry. It'll be fine." How stupid of him. He had just berated Aerith earlier for wanted to live in this hope-filled imaginary world, and here he was lying to Yuffie.

Because honestly, he didn't know if there would be a cure.

She nodded into his shoulder, trying to fight back more tears.

On the stairs out of sight Aerith bit her lip and sobbed quietly into the wall, for her family was falling apart.

_______

_"Do you think we'll be able to get back into Radiant Garden, Sora?" she asked, watching as her two friends fiddled with the ships control panel, Riku with a sort of calm dread and Sora with a frown. Flipping into the nearest chair, she eased her face over Sora's shoulder so she could watch the proceedings better._

_ "Of course." Sora nodded, hair brushing her face in a way that made her laugh. She leaned back into the chair and looked at Riku, expecting an answer from him as well._

_ "Who's to say?" he responded quietly to the unspoken inquiry. "I don't know what happened to the borders and doorways between worlds after we defeated Organization XIII, but hopefully we'll be able to get through."_

_ "Ah Riku, we'll be fine." Sora grinned, final adjustments completed. He placed his hands behind his head and looked over at his best friend, grim-faced over the navigation board. "I just wish the king would answer our letters, s'all…" _

_ Riku pursed his lips. "Its odd that he hasn't, especially after sending us that last one."_

_ Sora recalled the letter that lay curled in his jacket pocket, torn from use and being read so much; he remembered the day they found it, a lone paper in a glass bottle waiting to be read._

_ "I only wish," she said wistfully, looking out at the sea of green and blue that surrounded their transportation, "that we could have finished this fighting, when the Organization was defeated."_

_ The two boys did not have to say anything; their tacit agreement showed. Sora fiddled unnecessarily with a dial and Riku rubbed at his eyes, uncomfortable. "Geostigma. And Sin." He peered out, following her gaze. "What do those things mean?"_

_ She sighed, for they had already discussed this hundreds of times, it seemed. The answer was no closer than the day she first found the letter, floating against the sand in a soft pile of bluish-green. "Well, at least the heartless part isn't new," Sora responded, trying to make light of the difficult situation. "We know what they are."_

_ "I still think," she stated, suddenly stubborn, "that it's something left over, from the dark maybe. A monster or something." _

_ "That's the best possibility we have so far," Riku nodded consent, "but the fact that the king called us for help can only mean trouble."_

_ "That's why," Sora tried a smile, soft and small, "we need to go to Radiant Garden. I'm sure Leon or Merlin will be able to tell us more."_

_ "Well," Riku rubbed his face, sending a hand through light silver hair, "here's hoping the borders are still open."_

_ "Strap in," Sora told her; copying each other the two placed the seatbelts low along their waist, and Sora turned towards the steering. Riku, buckled in himself, pulled up closer to the navi-computer. _

_ There was no more talk to be had, and with a rumbling sort of groan the ship's engines whirled to life, and for a moment Sora missed Chip and Dale, who always knew what to do in these sort of things. The propulsion system engaged, and he could sense rather than see the ship lifting off the sandy ground. Beside him she watched the island become a small dart through the thick, double-enforced window as they shot smoothly into the sky._

_ "Here we go." Riku muttered as the ship passed effortlessly through the first border and out into empty space, their island-home and sunny blue scenery of old no longer visible. In front of them lay their first barrier, locked good and tight. "Sora." Riku motioned to his friend, watching as, with a flick of his wrist, the key-bearer opened the door. The ship sailed through._

_ "Good, everything looks fine," she sighed gratefully, slouching a little in relief. The darkness of space, the odd rubble from a forgotten world, was all she could see around them. On the computer Radiant Garden, a small, blinking dot, appeared ever closer. She watched the horizon almost eagerly, subconsciously reaching out a hand to Sora, who took it without second thought, a small blush spreading lightly over his cheeks._

_ "I wouldn't be too sure of that." Riku's voice was grim, and suddenly her heart was beating fast in her chest._

_ The ship had come upon Radiant Garden, the large planet-like world beginning to dominate the front windows. But something odd and unnatural flickered around it, a gray sort of shield that made everything inside seem fuzzy and out of focus. Sora frowned, his hand tightening around hers._

_ "What is that?" he asked, but neither she nor Riku could offer up any sort of answer. The ship moved closer, and the key-bearer turned. "Should we try and go through it?"_

_ Riku sensed an odd sort of darkness emanating from it, and his heart suddenly hurt, eyes narrowed. "A little closer, maybe, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get in with that thing around the world—"_

_ Suddenly a blast rocked the ship. She screamed as she was wrenched painfully against her seat belt, but outside the space around them seemed as calm as before. "What was that?" she gasped, unbuckling because the jerk had left an uncomfortably hurt along her stomach. _

_ "Something big is showing up on radar," Riku's voice was tight. "Do you have the wheel?" he turned quickly to look at Sora._

_ "I—"_

_ Another hit, and she was flung wildly out of her seat, still gripping Sora's hand fiercely. He hauled her up as whatever was attacking them finally came into view; large and gray, it dominated their sight, and seemed, from what she could tell, to stem from the mass surrounding Radiant Garden, but soon rational thought was pushed from her head as with another harsh pull the very bindings of the Gummiship ripped apart, and she could feel the metal around her breaking, hear the snap and crunch as supports gave and systems failed; the lights flickered and she grabbed roughly onto Sora's chair to keep hold of anything; his hand was hot in hers._

_ There was a moment when all was silent, and she could she Riku struggling against his seatbelt, hear as Sora shouted her name over and over in a hoarse voice, but it all passed quickly as the monster gave one last tug and the entire roof of the ship was pulled loose. Riku, having just tugged free of his belt, had no grip, and with a soundless yell he was wrenched free and into the dark abyss beyond. She was sobbing his name, over and over, but it was getting difficult to breath and Sora's hand was warm in hers and she was screaming his name too, over and over, as the lack of anything attaching her to the ship became apparent, and Sora's strength to keep her tethered faded—_

_ "Kairi! Hold on! Just hold on, Kairi! Kairi!"_

"Kairi!"

Her eyes flew open and she sat up, stiff and straight, hair flying in a wild halo about her head as she struggled to take in her surroundings. Her head caught up with her actions and began to pound suddenly; she fell backwards, hitting strong arms instead of bleak sand. She tried to comprehend who held her.

"Hey, are you alright?" Selphie, odd, brownish hair spilling over her face, looked down at her, green eyes concerned. The arms that held her, Kairi realized after another breath, another moment in which she took in all that was around her, belonged to Tidus, as they were tanned and smooth and muscled. She examined his worried face.

"Kairi, are you alright?" Selphie repeated, urgent, yet to the girl the message seemed fleeting, and she forgot it the moment it was said.

" 'ey, give her some breathing room, ya?" That accent reminded her keenly of Wakka.

"Yeah, Selphie, she's obviously hurt; we should take her back to the mainland—"

"She's not even responding though!"

"She's blacking out, again, Tidus, hold on to 'er—"

It was so much easier, Kairi though faintly, head pounding and eyes searing at the light of the sand reflected and multiplied by the bright sun, to just sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

**a/n:** yo everyone. this is an...ok chapter? i don't know. please review, and thank you to all who have so far--if you are confused PM me and i can set some things straight, lol

* * *

**Chapter Four: Understanding**

It followed that after Yuffie extinguished the candles and headed upstairs, waving a sad goodnight in his direction, Leon could not sleep. Night had fallen, the heavy, darkest part now lying like a thick blanket around Radiant Garden, and he sat, alone in his room, unable to close his eyes. The window was open; his only window, a wide sort of bay that peered out on the sleeping town below. A cold breeze was teetering through, brushing his feet where they dangled, bootless, over the bed. He was not lying down—his mind was too full of thoughts for that—and instead he was sitting on his comforter, back against the pallid wall behind him.

He thought, for a moment, of how different his room was from Yuffie's. Sort of bland and boring, all white-washed walls and neat lines and no stray thing out of place, whereas hers was like the cat threw up and then liked how it looked, so it did it again.

His thoughts wandered from the messy, cacophony of colors and things that was Yuffie's room to the fact that, should she ever succumb to this disease, they would have to clean it. And all the mess and junk and things would have to be thrown away, a sort of sad reminder, a morbid tombstone to the way things could have been. Taking away everything Yuffie and throwing it in a storage room, or the garbage, or giving it away—that would almost be worse than having to destroy her if she became a heartless. Because Leon knew that once that happened she would no longer be Yuffie, just a sort of shell-corpse of a once-happy girl; but that girl would still be in all her items, every article of clothing, every shuriken that hung on the wall, every poster and blanket and paper and _thing_—

He realized he was breathing rather heavily through his nose; he could not close his eyes, nor was he tired; calming himself down slightly, he rose from his creaky, flat bed, and went to his dresser. He pulled on his pants and a shirt. Just for the hell of it he threw a couple of articles of clothing on his neat, hardwood floor. They stood out eerily against the emptiness in the dark.

Mechanically he went to the door and shoved his cold feet into his boots where they stood, as always. On auto-pilot now, not even entirely sure of where he was headed or what he was planning on doing once there, he swung his gunblade from its lean against the wall into his holster, the comforting weight at his hip allowing him to think more clearly.

He knew exactly where he was headed. How to get there, well, that would be another matter entirely.

With easy practiced—"_Come on Squall, if we climb from your window no one will wake up"—_he flung himself out and over into the cold night air, dropping from the window ledge to a store sign, crawling with frigid fingers until he was over a low-slung roof, which he hit roughly. Running across he jumped into the nearest alleyway, peering back at the opening from which he came.

"Come on, Squall," he whispered to himself, heading off into the dark.

_______

Rikku didn't like Merlin's house. It was shady, she thought, turning over in the make-shift cot he had set up for her down near the door. Everything creaked. The wind was rattling through the shutters, and the damn computer was on sleep mode, yet still made a sort of humming sigh. Merlin snored. Loudly. She heard him toss and hit a pile of ever present books with a sleepy sort of groan.

Yuna's cot was next to hers, separated by a little space; Paine's was long-ways beneath theirs, and Rikku peered down at her friends harsh features, softened by sleep. Then she narrowed her eyes in Yuna's direction; her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open, a soft breath escaping too quickly—

"Yunie!" even at a whisper Rikku's voice carried around the whole house. Yuna's mismatched eyes shot open quickly, and with a little 'oh my,' she shot straight up. For a second or two the cousins remained like that, one stark straight and the other hiding laughter within a lumpy old pillow.

"I knew it," Rikku giggled, "I knew you weren't asleep."

Yuna shook her head. "Everything's so creaky. And loud."

"And Merlin snores."

"And the doors move—"

"And the computer's whirring—"

"And if you superstitious people don't shut up I'm going to get mad." Paine's voice was groggy with sleep, normally sleek silver-hair mussed with tiredness. Her head was peaking out of several blankets and this caused Rikku to break into a new fit of giggles.

"Sorry Paine!" Yuna murmured back, "Go back to sleep."

The two waited side by side until they could hear the steady breathing once more; then Rikku threw off her blankets and shrugged into her boots where they lay in a heap on the floor. Her clothes, wrinkled from sleep, and her hair, wild braids flying about her head, made her look slightly mad as she tipped over on quiet feet to the door. Yuna followed suit.

Outside was no less creepy than Merlin's little cottage; the wind had picked up, and Rikku could spy clouds over the horizon, dark and black. Yuna sighed. "I'm so tired, but couldn't sleep."

"Ack. I know." Rikku pursed her lips, moving away from the door. "Let's do something—might as well, we're up anyway."

Yuna pulled her friend away from the door, yet still their voices sounded too loud for the silent night. They walked a little ways. "Like what?"

"Well…let's explore!" Rikku got a wicked gleam in her eyes. "What better way to celebrate becoming humans again then a midnight treasure hunt!"

"Without Paine?"

"I knew that Maleficent wanted us out of the picture—too afraid of the Gullwings, that's why she took part of our hearts and placed it into that Materia, made us small—" Rikku continued as if Yuna had never spoken.

"We're not entirely sure that's the reason, Rikku, we need to do some more research—"

"And if we find a great treasure tonight, then we come rub it into that sleepy mc-sleeper's face; serves Paine right—"

"Rikku, where are we going?"

"Shh!" Rikku, suddenly spying a sort of movement up ahead, pulled Yuna behind the nearest trash can. She peered over the lid. "Is that Squall?"

"Leon? But what would Leon be doing out so late at night?"

"I don't know," the wicked gleam was back. "Let's follow him—"

Yuna mouthed in unison, "And find out."

_______

She kept rubbing her eyes, the wind whipping her hair into her face; she brushed it back impatiently, feet swinging nimbly from the small little wharf she had situated herself on. In front of her the water was dim, greenish with dirt and decay; behind her she could feel Vincent, standing and watching the stars. With forced, shaky movements she felt again at her eyes, which were swollen and raw from crying. Slow footsteps echoed down the peer, presumably from the warehouse she had just recently vacated.

"Look, Rinoa," she recognized the voice which seemed too loud for the hushed night around her; she looked to the side and saw Vincent swing his head gracefully to face the speaker, who was blocked out by the mass of her friend's cape, "I'm sorry. About what the boss said…"

"Its fine, Reno, I'm not mad at you," her voice was thin and shaky. "I'm mad at him."

"I know, I just—" he sighed, and she felt him swing himself down beside her. She looked over at him, red hair tousled in the breeze, kept from his face only by his goggles, which were now reflecting the moon back at her. He was examining the sky, and Rinoa followed his gaze to see a mass of black promising a bitter storm on the horizon. "I just wish I could do something, you know?"

She leaned back on her hands, bumping clumsily into Vincent's metal shoes. She peered up into his face, meeting crimson eyes. Her stare returned to Reno. "You can! Come on, we can fight him together—us three, and Rude, and maybe some of the others—"

"You know I can't go against the boss, Rinoa," Reno eyed her seriously.

"Why not? It's not like you actually like what he's suggesting, do you?"

"No, I don't. But he is the boss. And I am a Turk."

Heavy silence followed this. Rinoa pulled her legs up and tucked them under her chin, arms wrapping around her knees in a small, childish sort of comfort. When she did not speak after a time Reno stood sadly.

"You know, I wouldn't blame you."

She glanced quickly up at him. He seemed so tall, hair spilling behind him in the wind as his eyes were again brought to the gathering storm. "I wouldn't blame you," he continued, "for leaving. Not once. And I would do my best to keep him off your trail for awhile."

"But he's killed so many." Rinoa's voice was a hoarse whisper as she buried her face in her knees. "So many of us, because they defected."

"He hasn't caught Aeris yet. Or Zack. Or Lulu, come to think of it."

"Or Barrett." Vincent's deep monotone caught her off guard.

"Yeah, but," she bit her lip, "what about Cissnei? And Zell? And Quistis? Irvine hasn't been seen in ages, and Genesis is long dead. And Angeal."

"Why are you staying with us, though?" Reno's voice was urgent. "Why do you feel the need to follow the boss around? He's not doing what you would want to do, so leave. Nothing except your conscious and dead feelings are keeping you in this group—"

"I can't leave. Not you, or Rude…"

"Rinoa, listen to me: he is going to have you kill. He is going to have you help spread along the process of disease so that Sin will grow faster and this world will be consumed. He is going to make you gather what little Lifestream the planet will have left in order to resurrect our own lost worlds—but would you really feel anything good in gaining a world that shouldn't exist in the first place? And only does exist because we killed and maimed and slaughtered—"

"Alright! Alright!" Rinoa stood, facing him. "I get it, alright?"

"Leave." She had been so absorbed in Reno's speech that she had missed Rude's approach. "Fight for what you believe in."

"The Turks will remain with the boss, but our numbers are..ah...shrinking. And fast. If you can lie low we can keep Tseng from finding you."

Rinoa bit her lip. Her eyes roved around aimlessly, searching for something else to stare at besides her friend's faces. Why, she thought bitterly, why did she stay? She crossed her arms, rubbing them to get some warmth. She was feeling uncomfortably open and raw.

She stayed for the happy ending she wished she could have, that that man had promised her long ago. If that wasn't going to happen, why bother? All this killing. All this violence. Why?

It shouldn't be a hard choice. In fact, the answer was right in plain sight. She sighed heavily, mind made up. "Vincent." Rinoa turned on her heel, staring up into his pale face. "Will you come with me, or stay?"

"You know the answer." He responded gruffly, fingering the gun at his side. She took a deep breath and held it in, slowly exhaling.

"Kay then, I guess its settled." She turned towards Reno, who was grinning. "If you die though, I'll have to come kill you, Reno. You too, Rude."

"Go now, yo, before anyone sees—"

"Maybe you can find one of the others—"

"And don't forget to write, ya hear?"

Rinoa grabbed Vincent's good hand and sprinted off down the wharf, past the old warehouse and down the business district, searching for a nondescript alley, trying in vain, all the while, to ignore the tears that leaked out of her eyes and onto her face.

Reno had been right, always right; she was done waiting. At least now she could begin to do something, fight back—

Vincent's hand was warm in hers as she pounded down the alleyway she came from. She paused at the entrance to the run-down part of this world, where the lights were still flickering and shops and bars were still open. She was panting heavily, leaning against a seedy, dirty wall. She straightened and asked quietly, "Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

"I believe so." Was her companion's soft reply.

"Do you think we'll make a difference? Or is this place already doomed?"

"I cannot say." He answered bluntly.

"Vincent…are sins…ever forgiven?" she searched for his crimson eyes in the flickering light of the street beyond. They met hers, steady.

"I wouldn't know. I've never tried."

"You mean…never tried…" she nodded. "Well let's go try—we can phone in a verdict."

_______

He was staring at the flowers when he heard the sudden footsteps, appearing startlingly from the desolate waste beyond. He glanced upward quickly, hand moving almost automatically to the hilt of his sword, lifting it slightly and preparing for a sudden, quick, downward slice—

Sora burst through into the small clearing unexpectedly, and though no outcropping could have hid his approach he did not see the teenager running towards him. Standing now, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily with exertion, he could almost picture the little boy he had first met long ago. "Sora," he nodded quietly, dropping the weight of his weapon, "what are you doing here?"

His voice brought the boy's head whipping up, and with a blinding sort of grin he exclaimed, "Cloud! I knew you'd be here! She'll be so happy—"

"She?"

Another person burst suddenly into the field of white and gold; her gaze, sure and steady, met his, and with a sort of disbelieving smile she said, "Cloud, where have you been?"

"Tifa—" he took a step forward, but stopped, lost for words. He looked to the side. The white and gold lilies swept him up and he remembered that mysterious girl from earlier. With a sort of hurried cough Sora brought him back into reality; Tifa's red eyes were grounding as he shook the fog that had gathered in his head.

"Well, its great that we found you, Cloud," Sora spoke when it was clear no one else would break the silence, "because we've been all over this place and we can't find anything but dirt."

Tifa nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't know how we'll be able to get off."

"Where are we exactly?" he couldn't quite bring himself to look at her eyes and found his own attracted to the muck covering Sora's large sneaker.

"A sort of Limbo, an Inbetween." Tifa frowned, pushing her way through the flowers to come a survey the bleak surrounding landscape. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Limbo?" Cloud frowned. "How did we end up here?"

Tifa shrugged with a helpless sort of purse tingeing her lips; a great silence seemed to swell up, and for some reason she felt oddly disconnected from the man across from her. His eyes were faraway, distant.

A gap had been created without her knowing.

"I get the feeling," Sora's voice, steady and sure, brought her back to reality and she was grateful for the distraction, "that this place…isn't really suppose to exist, you know?" He was frowning, having moved to the edge of the circular flower garden; he proceeded to step in between the waste and the garden, pausing in between each step as if something were going to forcibly stop him. Tifa glanced at the dirt around her; she had to admit, the way the sound died off quickly, the odd landscape, the lack of anything living did give the place a rather eerie feel.

"But how are we here?" Cloud wondered aloud. "If it doesn't exist?"

"Ha," Sora looked sheepishly in his direction, "I never think about that. Too much work. But it sort of reminds me of how the Nobodies' home was like, or Betwixt and Between."

"Well, if this world is like those, then shouldn't we be able to leave like how you left the other ones?" Tifa asked. Cloud met her eyes and her heart hurt.

"I had someone with me who had the power of darkness." Sora scowled into the grass as the weight of their situation finally sunk in; with no darkness and no Gummiship, how were they expected to get out of this place and back home?

_______

Her sleep was littered with nightmares, ones in which she was forced to watch as Squall and Aerith and Cid changed into heartless, their black, shadowy masses slinking forward towards her feet. When she tried to run she looked down, only to find her feet were unable to move and her leg gave way beneath her and she realized that they were not turning into heartless, rather, _she _was.

More than once she woke crying, commanding herself to go back to sleep, her right leg throbbing and head blazing.

She prayed for the deep sleep, the one in which you did not dream.

_______

He had smoked his way through half his first pack, not even bothering to finish a cigarette, when he realized that several gruff, wild-eyed men were eyeing the bundle he had left with obvious interest. With disgust he stamped out the lit one in his mouth and pushed through the gathering crowd down the street. The lights were flickering and his lungs felt sweaty and sticky, his mind slow and sluggish and craving one more cigarette after being denied them for so long.

He was going to go back to his garage. To the new ship he was building. He did not feel like facing the kids at home, not tonight. He rubbed at the scruff gathering on his chin, stepping past rickety old shops that promised old-remedies to a various number of diseases, but nothing of which he was interested in.

Near the end of the block, where the neighborhood began to improve, the sweet smell of strong liquor accosted him from across the street. He peered over at the flashing neon sign indicating a bar, one right on the edge of the slums. Its exterior was nice, but some of the men being thrown out at the moment were three sheets to the wind—inside, it was probably a hell-hole.

He knew that he didn't need a drink—he'd been on that wagon for quite a while—but he figured he might as well stop in for a sip of something. He wouldn't be in there for long.

Walking across to its door he took in the wooded exterior, looking out of place next to the dark, seedy shops that lined the road. Its sign flickered dully, proclaiming that 7th Heaven was open for business, and he snorted at the name as he pushed open the glass door.

Inside a bar lined the far wall, and booths and tables the open area between; it was not crowded, but the few inside seemed harsh, their hoarse voices calling for more beer as they drank away their sorrows.

The floor was not crowded, but he noted with dismay that the bar was hopping. He spied one open stool near the wall, and pushed his way forward to sit between a man uttering guttural curses into his mug and a slim, petite woman, the only in the place besides the haggard girl working behind the counter. He said nothing, just sat and found himself staring at the rough grain of the surface before him, gouged in places by who knows what.

"What'll it be?" the waitress girl broke him out of his revere. Dulled by the tobacco and lack of sleep, it took him a moment to respond. He felt like all in the bar were looking at him.

"Ah, a…a glass of water." He was staring intently at his hands, trying to ignore the smell of alcohol hitting him in waves.

"Honey, it's liquor or nothing, I afraid." The girl looked exasperated, as if she wanted to scold him for going into a bar and asking for water. He felt ashamed, but didn't know why.

"What about a Neo-Elixir, can you give him one of those?" He did not know the voice. He found it was coming from the girl beside him.

"But they's just an energy drink." The worker seemed intent on getting all her customers drunk.

"Yes," the girl beside him had a clear voice, one that was laced now with sarcasm and forced patience towards the waitress, "but he wants one."

Several long seconds later a gold-sort of liquid was slammed on the counter before him; he took a tentative sip, and immediately felt the heat of energy slipping down his throat and into his system, like a non-alcoholic beer. He took a bigger gulp before turning to the girl next to him. "Thanks." He said, trying to focus on her face as it turned towards her; it was hard with the screaming men in the background.

"Not a problem," she giggled, and he wished more than anything she wouldn't have—_Yuffie giggled lightly as she raced forward into the market, gray eyes searching behind her for her company—_because it gave him a sudden headache. "You looked uncomfortable—do you not like beer?"

He noticed she had a Potion in front of her, and was swirling the odd contents around half-heartedly. "No," he replied, taking another sip of his Elixir, "I like it too much. Been on the boat for five or six years. Maybe seven—can't remember."

"Well, good for you, then, staying clean." She smiled, but seemed sad, for it didn't quite reach her eyes. Feeling more aware now than before he shrugged upward on his stool, resting his elbows on the wood. "My name's Rinoa, by the way, nice to meet you."

"You shouldn't go around telling every man you meet your name." The deep monotone came from her other side, and for the first time he noticed the tall, dark man sitting there, hardly touching his cocktail mixture as he watched her.

"Oh Vincent—"

"I ain't going to go round telling every godforsaken person your name, now, I don't have the time." His lips tightened into a thin line. "My name's Cid."

"Hello Cid—that was Vincent Valentine, and you should just ignore him because he worries too much."

"What, is he your brother?"

"Nah, just a really good friend."

"Well, nice to meet you Valentine."

When no response was given Cid turned back to his drink; the bell tolled over the door as a new wave of people entered the bar.

"Uh-oh." Beside him Rinoa stiffened, her hair falling forward to cover he face. Cid glanced backwards at the tall man and his companion entering the bar, suited up in jackets and ties, weapons glinting in the half-light around them.

Silence fell slowly as everyone registered the newcomers, their distinctive appearance and the silver metallic of guns and things at their sides.

"Do you know them?" Cid hissed at the girl beside him. She shrunk lower in the stool; he noted the Valentine fellow was gripping his glass rather tightly.

Well, he thought, taking another sip of his own Elixir, things were about to get interesting.

_______

Her senses came back in waves: first the smell, dank and misty, finely layered with rotting wood; then the feel, a soft blanket separating her from the sand, one piled beneath her head, a towel over the rest of her makeshift bed; third the taste, a thick sort of grim that made her feel heady and her tongue feel too large for her mouth; fourth the ache, dull, sprouting from her back and ending in her neck; and finally sound, entering her ears in a slow, methodical sort of way.

She could hear the beach, but muffled, as the waves hissed along the sand. That meant she was probably lying in the corner of the old seaside shack. She could also perceive several voices chattering in low whispers off to the side, trying not to disturb her. Thinking slowed as she emerged from her faint, she clung to the sound, trying to discern any clue as to where she was.

"…I don't know, I think we should get Sora's mom or something."

"Nah, that'll raise a big fuss, and I think she's fine."

"You don't know that, man, maybe Selphie's right—"

"She's still breathing."

"Tidus, sometimes you are so stupid."

"But still, how'd she get here? It's just so weird, ya? And Sora 'n Riku aren't with 'er either."

"I don't know; we'll have to wait until she gets up to ask her…"

Kairi heard no more; if Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka were here, then she must be on the islands. If Sora and Riku weren't with her, then she must be on the islands alone. And it was then she began to cry, because she had once again been left behind.

_______

It was a bullet to one of its mechanical eyes that finally sent the beast whirring over the side of the platform to the floor below, which lay so far beneath them that, try as he might, Riku could not hear it hit the bottom. In front of him the girl folded her blade, easing it into a holster on her back, and behind him the dark-skinned man shuffled forward as he placed his guns away. "Hey, thanks for the help." He said rather amiably, and Riku sighed as Way of Dawn left his hand.

He hadn't even done all that much.

"Woulda been a lot tougher without you, that's for sure." The man continued, oblivious to the fact that the girl had begun a fast clip down the metal causeway. Riku was about to point this out when the man noticed and shouted forward with a gruff sort of voice, "Yo Lightning, hold up!"

She took no notice; Riku wondered if she had even heard, but the older man was cursing under his breath. "Damn girl never listens—come on, or she'll leave us behind." He started a lethargic sort of jog, still panting slightly. "Hey, you're not with PSICOM, are you?"

"Who?" Riku spoke for the first time, easily keeping up as they passed a set of crates piled one on top of the other. The girl, Lightning, had stopped just beyond them.

"Guess that means no. You don't look like one of them anyway."

"Ah."

"I'm Sazh, nice to meet you." The older man smiled offering his hand as they came to a slow stop behind the girl.

"Riku," he grasped the man's hand and stepped back, looking around at the odd place he had landed himself in.

"We don't have time for this; we have to keep moving if we want to catch them." It was the first time she had spoken; her voice was deeper, and from behind her demeanor was sharp and commanding. Riku licked his lips, almost, but not quite, nervously.

"Aren't you gonna thank him, Lightning? He helped us defeat—"

"I don't care, and I don't need help from some kid."

"…Kid?" Riku almost, but not quite, snorted.

A ship zoomed overhead, and the breeze floated down to where he stood, ruffling his silver hair. "He could be PSICOM himself for all we know." She continued, finally turning to face him. Her lips were hard set against him.

"Look at him—does he really look like a PSICOM to you?"

She scoffed, and Riku's eyes narrowed. "I'm not a PSICOM, whatever that is. I had…ship trouble. I don't know where I am, but I'd be willing to help you guys, if you needed it—"

"I thought I told you, I don't need help from some kid! We need to move Sazh, now." She started forward without another word, leaving Riku behind her wondering at her bluntness. Sazh sighed, bringing a hand up to scratch at his head.

"Well come on, kid, or we'll loose her."

"You sure you trust me?" Riku thought this world was turning out to be immensely bizarre, with its beast-machines and metal landscape and PSICOM soldiers. He almost wished the man would answer no so he could sit down and leave them be, working on summoning enough darkness to get home, or at least to a familiar world. Instead the man shrugged.

"I don't know who to trust, kid, but I have a feeling we're gonna need more fighters—and hell, you can fight. So let's go, before I change my mind."

Riku grinned as the two took off after their hasty companion.

_______

There was a tightening in his arms, unused muscles flaring to life as the silent boot steps of the newcomers echoed towards the bar counter. He felt suddenly, gloriously awake, fingering his glass with a sort of calm dread. He only wished that he had his Venus Gospel with him—fighting without a weapon was going to be difficult.

"Rinoa." The newcomer's voice, deep, flitted through the silent bar. "I'm here to ask you to come back to us."

She sighed, turning slowly to face the man, hair floating back behind her face. "Hello, Tseng." She stood. "I thought we'd have more time, before you came after us."

"I never thought you would defect." The man, Tseng's, voice was a breathy exhale as he pushed an empty chair aside and walked purposefully forward. Beside him was a nervous looking red-head who was lagging back near the door. The lady behind the counter was about to tell this man off for ruining the atmosphere of her bar but took one look at his face and slowly slunk to the other corner. Cid watched it all from the corner of his eye.

"I…" she paused, and Cid could tell she was measuring the man's footsteps, even and steady as he swerved around two half-filled tables, whose occupants watched on with a sort of odd silence. "I couldn't live with it anymore, Tseng, the guilt and all…"

"I have orders to kill you if I cannot bring you back alive. That includes you as well, Vincent Valentine."

The girl's back was taunt against the bar counter, hands clenched into fists at her side. Beside Cid the odd cursing man had taken the opportunity to leave without paying, an empty stool sitting in his wake. Cid thought that the man, Tseng, would be just about close enough now—

"I can't believe you would go through with this." Rinoa seemed to be stalling. "Shinra is planning on working with Kadaj's gang."

"They were just born. They are new, and can be fixed."

"I'm not so sure." There was a pause in which, for the space of a second, nothing happened and nobody moved. Then Rinoa made a lunge for the glasses behind the bar, aiming to throw one at her attacker—but Cid moved faster.

With senses heightened from his drink he kicked the school backwards and swung around to throw his glass at the man with his forward momentum. The stool took him off guard, and he stumbled, off balance in his black slacks for just a moment; the glass hurtling at his face presented a bigger issue, and it did not take Valentine yelling for him to duck for Cid to realize that that Tseng-fellow was pulling out his handgun with practiced ease. He rolled onto his knees and to the side, underneath the nearest table, watching as the glass above shattered into a million pieces which cascaded harshly to the ground in a discordant of sounds. Warm liquid splattered him as he eased backward to stand in front of the girl.

He found himself staring into the gun's barrel.

"I suggest you move," Tseng said carefully, coldly. Cid grappled for anything else to use as a weapon but his hand came up short.

_Click_. The black barrel of Valentine's gun was pointed over Cid's shoulder, loaded and ready; behind him he could feel Rinoa, tense and flighty, set to spring. It was a battle of patience, now.

"Woah—" with a sudden yelp the red-head, who had been standing close to the door, sprang forward, knocking over the remaining tables and their customers' drinks. He staggered to a near stop but hit their attacker, sending both tumbling ungracefully into a heap on the ground. "Reno—" Tseng said as, surprised, he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the knee of one man close to Cid.

With a yell the wounded shuffled forward and swung a punch at another angry customer who had just lost his beer—as the riot increased in intensity behind them, as the two suited figures struggled to their feet, Cid grabbed the girl's hand, knocking into the barrel of Valentine's gun as he ran towards the street and open air. "Come on," he shouted over the din, dodging punches and kicks as he went.

The night was dark and cool, the fresh breeze calming to his adrenaline drenched senses. He let go of the girl and motioned them forward down an alley, across a side-street, and back near the good part of town. Valentine followed like her shadow.

"We are we going?" Rinoa panted, continuously looking behind her to check for pursuers. Vincent was running with his gun pointed back, metal shoes pounding odd staccato on the concrete beneath him.

"To my hanger." Cid's head was clearing, wondering why he helped this strange girl. "I think you two have some explaining to do."

_______

Below him was nothing, the sharp drop off he had saved Yuffie from earlier. Above him, glittering eerily in the moonlight, rested the old castle, decrepit and unused. He stood a moment at the edge, wind blowing his hair softly around his face, wondering if this would amount to anything other than a painful fall to the ruins below—his Glide spell was shaky at best, and he had not used it in quite awhile. His feet brushed nothingness.

She would not have waited. She would have smiled and back-flipped off the edge, a dissonance of hootings and yelpings as she took off into the sky. She would almost fall, yet continue to go, go, go—

His eyes hurt. This thinking was getting the best of him. He was not, nor would ever be, Yuffie, and if he wanted to do this correctly he would have to do it his own way. He fingered the crystallized spell he had won from Cid a few years back. It would not last long—he would have to fly low and fast, towards the lip of the hanging castle that once housed the witch. If he was too slow it would only hurt more in the end.

He thought he heard a giggle behind him and sighed, closing his eyes and willing patience. Rikku and Yuna had been tailing him since he left Merlin's house—he wasn't, as they seemed to deem him, a total moron. Rather, he didn't wish to deal with them now, and ignoring them was the quickest way to do so. He imagined them taking shelter beside some rock, wondering what he was doing at the edge of a cliff so late at night.

"…Whatever." He said to himself, done with waiting. Clouds were rolling in behind him, about to cover the moon and his only light—he could wait no longer. With a deep breath, he took one step forward into the air—

"Squall! What the hell--!"

He was beginning to barrel downward, one foot teetering on the edge of the stone behind him when he felt small hands grabbing at his jacket. "Stop it, Rikku, I'm not—"

Whatever he was going to say did not come, for he dropped like a dead weight, and even the combined forces of Yuna and Rikku, grunting and screaming, were not enough to keep him anchored to the rock. However, they could not keep themselves up either.

Leon found that he was dropping rather sharply and rather fast, the extra weight of Yuna, clutching his jacket sleeve, and Rikku, toppling head over heels next to him, proving too much for his feeble Glide spell. He willed it to work, watching his destination edge further from site. Besides him the two girls' screams were caught and ripped from their mouths as their hands grasped his. The air was sliding disconcertingly past his face, making his eyes water. He could not keep his hands at his side—the wind pushed them up and out, until he was like a bird.

A bird dropping fifty miles per hour towards hard rock below.

Finally, somewhere near the bottom when Leon had just begun to worry, the old spell kicked in with a jolt, and their descent slowed to about half of their original speed. Rikku got her voice back and Leon could finally discern what she was shouting.

"Of all the stupid, half-assed stunts Squall, I think this—"

He managed to slow them down even more, startling the thought out of her. Yuna was rather quiet and pale-faced, grim looking as she clutched the circulation out of Leon's arm.

"What in Ansem's name are you doing?!"

Again their descent slowed. He realized he could make out, by the dim moonlight, the hard rocks and broken outlines of the ruins below. He concentrated harder.

"Squall! Can you _please_ answer me you big fat—"

"Shut. Up!" Leon inched to a halt until the three hung suspended in mid-air. With a forced slowness, so as not to not disrupt his focus, he wrapped one hand around Rikku's waist and pulled Yuna down to a standing position beside him with the other, modesty be damned. He inched upward.

"I need you to help me, and not be dead weight." He seethed through closed teeth.

"Oh! You have a Glide spell! How'd you get one of those, huh? They're super rare—"

"Rikku, please." Yuna's voice was faint. She was closing her eyes, face to the sky, as if that would help her be more buoyant. Rikku took the hint and followed her lead.

Their crawling ascent occurred much more slowly than their fast plunge. In ten minutes time they had just reached the lip of the canyon they had toppled off. Leon could feel the spell draining fast, and knew he would have to wait for it to charge if he landed back there now. Also, he did not think Rikku and Yuna would let him attempt this again.

He did not have the time to waste arguing with them.

"Come on, lean forward a bit." His arms were hurting from supporting the girls. Together they tilted forward, and suddenly instead of inching upward they were inching towards the towering castle. The moon was lower in the sky, light fading as the clouds covered it.

"Hey, Squall, I hate to break your concentration or anything, but do we ah…seem to be dropping a bit, to you?" Rikku's voice broke the silence.

"…It would seem so."

The lip of the ruined castle was closer now. The spell had to only hold on for a few more minutes. They floated closer.

"Squall, I think we're really starting to lose it—"

"Leon, maybe we should—"

The three could grasp upward and hang from the cliff's edge, which, as they neared it, slowly sinking, had risen from eye-level to about a foot above their heads. The spell was fading fast, if they didn't move now—

He reached.

_______

When she awoke the sun was not out. Clouds, deep and gray, were covering the sky, and she couldn't tell what time it was. She felt groggy, her eyes sticky and heavy, body sore as she twisted sideways to stare at her alarm clock. It was still early, not yet six—she could use some more sleep.

In fact, she _knew_ she needed more sleep, but her eyes would not close. She kicked off her warped sheets with one leg and rolled heavily onto the floor, letting out a small noise as her knee collided with the blunt edge of a lone shuriken. She kicked it away as she stood, stretching, putting almost no weight on her right leg. It rested gingerly amidst the chaos that was her floor. She stumbled forward in the dark, tugging on more suitable ninja attire to face the day in—however lousy it was going to turn out to be—and groped blindly for the door handle.

The hall was quiet. No light in the kitchen meant that Aerith wasn't up yet—all the better. Cid's door was open, however—she stepped gingerly towards it, avoiding the squeaky floorboards, and peered inside.

No one was there. The bed was still made sloppily, cut outs of airships and Gummiships resting on the wall, newspaper thrown all over the place—she frowned, backing out and down the stairs. If Cid did not come back then he was probably sleeping at the garage for the night.

He only did that when he didn't want to face a problem at home.

She angrily blew hair out of her eyes as she stomped downstairs, not caring to be quiet any longer. Of course he wasn't coming home; he didn't want to have to face her—nobody wanted to face her.

She didn't feel like getting the toaster out so she had her bagel cold. She was about to go check the news on Cid's old computer in order to stay awake when she heard something, a banging coming from the front door. She moved towards the entry way, half-convinced that in her early morning delirium her mind was playing tricks with her.

_Poundpoundpound_.

Nope, there it was again. She wondered if she should open the door—she wasn't exactly in the best condition. Food seemed to help her leg now, though, for it wasn't hurting. She tested it gingerly as another knock emanated throughout the downstairs. She raced back into the kitchen and threw open the pantry, digging around for the spare shuriken she kept hidden there.

_"I don't know about you," _she had told Squall once, _"but I've noticed that killers always come in the downstairs, so I'm going to keep a weapon here, to show my great preparedness._"

The familiar coldness of sharp metal made her feel better than she had in days. She slunk back down the hall towards the door, where the pounding was getting more frantic and rushed; she prepared herself, threw one leg back to better her stance, clutched her weapon in front of her, and sprang. The door was thrown open in a crash of noise.

It was raining, and she hadn't bothered to turn the hall-light on, so only the dim night illuminated the figures in the door way. She squinted, pausing her shuriken mid-throw as someone yelled, "Wait, Yuffie—"

And suddenly Cloud toppled forward into her, sending them both crashing to the floor.

"Aerith!" she screamed.


End file.
